Children of the Abyss
by PickleToast
Summary: Children of Misfortune, cursed and blessed with the red eyes of the Abyss. He had them, so shouldn't that mean that he, too, could use those powers and abilities associated with them? He was certainly entitled to. If he could, then perhaps, just perhaps, he could fulfill that promise he made...to the Girl in White.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all, PickleToast here! I have a couple of things to talk about:

First, I am still continuing Rewind One More Time. For those who are on the watch for the next chapter, the current status is that I have an idea of how I want the chapter to go, and I know what I want to happen in the chapter…but I am having trouble figuring out a way to piece it together. I will have the chapter out by the end of the summer, I promise.

Second, another reason for my late update on ROMT is that I am practicing a new writing style. I want to be able to write something with a more serious tone to it, as I feel my other stories, while I love them to bits and would never change them, have a more light hearted and comedic style to them.

Third, for that reason, I am posting this! I was re-watching and re-reading Pandora Hearts and I had a great idea for a fanfiction. So I decided to write this fanfiction in the new style I'm trying to learn and grow into.

For now I am considering this a "test" chapter, to see how it turns out. Please let me know your thoughts about it, i.e. if you notice grammar issues, if you thing something doesn't sound right, something should be added/deleted/moved, whatever. I am trying to keep the concepts and facts as close to the manga as possible, with a few differences. Also, please give me your thoughts and ideas of what you might like to see, should I continue this story.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts, nor its characters.

Note: I am well aware that the characters are OOC, I do not care. I am more concerned with the writing style at the moment. Thank you. Also, this story begins right after the Opera House scene with Duke Barma.

It was raining hard that night, and the halls of the Rainsworth mansion were as silent as death itself. However, it was not long before that silence was broken by the sound of soft footsteps wandering seemingly without purpose. They made their way down halls, up halls, down stairs, up stairs, opening and closing doors. For all intents and purpose, the footsteps were pacing.

The owner of the footsteps was a lithe man with short white hair that framed his face and was brushed over the left side of his face. His single, wine-red eye was gleaming from underneath long eyelashes. The man was Xerxes Break, servant of the Rainsworth household and current personal valet to Sharon Rainsworth. He was currently in his pajamas, which at the moment consisted of a pale lavender nightshirt and a pair of grey pants that ended at his knees. He was wearing pair of brown slippers as well. He had recently bathed, so his white hair was still slightly damp, but Xerxes paid no mind to it.

After so many years of hiding it, making a new identity for himself, his secret had been dragged out, forcibly, and made to lay bare before everyone at the Opera House. Xerxes could have cared less about Oz, Alice, or Gilbert knowing. It was Reim he hadn't wanted to know. But he knew now, and he had found out in the worst way possible too.

If it wasn't for Oz interfering, he was positive that he would be in one of Pandora's many cells in the dungeon right now instead of back at the mansion; Alice too. Xerxes supposed he now owed Oz for that. How he hated owing people favors…

"Damn Barma…idiot Duke…damn it!" he cursed quietly, hitting his fist against the wall. He couldn't sleep; retelling his story had caused nothing but memories and random thoughts to fill his head, leaving him no rest. He focused his thoughts on that girl. The Will of the Abyss. The one that called herself Alice.

 _I don't want to be the Will of the Abyss anymore!_

He could not keep that phrase out of his mind. Why? Why did she not want to be the Will anymore? Did that mean that she wasn't to begin with? If so, then how did she become the Will? If she did become the Will, then did that mean that there was something controlling the Abyss prior to her appearance? She seemed to be fairly comfortable and happy where she was. So why…?

 _Jack said he was coming for tea!_

Could it be…? Xerxes gasped as he came to a stop, eye wide. Was she…lonely? Did she not want to be the Will because she was alone? Did she want to experience life up here like everyone else? Like her sister at present is? Alice wanted to be like Alice…?

"How confusing…troublesome. Why do they have to have the same name? It's quite obvious that they are two completely different people. Shouldn't they have different names? Hmm…" Alice, the brown haired one, was already using that name up here. If her sister, the white haired one, came up to join her, she couldn't go by Alice, as her sister had already laid claim to that name here. Alice…Abyss…Will….Alice of the Abyss…Alice of Abyss…Al..yss…?

Xerxes had to stop and laugh as he finished that thought. Alyss! What a perfect name! If anyone asked, or was suspicious, she could just say it was a nickname for 'Alyssa' to make her name sound like her twin sister's. Alice and Alyss. Perfect!

That didn't really solve anything though. At least, it didn't solve anything important. If Alyss was lonely and didn't want to be the Will because of it the questions still stand as to 'how' and 'why' she became the Will in the first place. Also, 'what' was it that made her the Will? If he could just figure those out, then maybe…

"I could help grant that wish of yours…" Xerxes, as he had told Gil before, did not hate Alyss. It was not her fault. It was his and his alone. He still had to atone, and he fully believed that granting her wish was the way to do so, and thinking now that Alyss was just a lonely girl…it made his heart hurt. He hated seeing anyone cry, and he knew what it was like to be alone. To be ostracized. He was a Child of Misfortune. His red eyes meant that he had no one to play with when he was growing up. No one wanted to be seen with him. He was grateful that his parents had been trying so long for a child that they didn't get rid of him, and he was grateful to the Sinclair family for not kicking him out either.

That said, he knew that terrible feeling of loneliness. No one should have to suffer that. No one. Not even Alyss. Especially Alyss. It seemed as though she had no choice in being the Will. So that meant that she was a victim, and how could Xerxes blame the victim? He couldn't, he wouldn't. He was going to help her. Somehow…

"Tch! What am I supposed to do now?! It's obvious I'm not going to get anything from Barma, and any documents from the time prior to the Tragedy are gone! I can't help if I don't have the answers, and I can't get the answers without the proper information! Damn it!" he slammed his fist on the wall again, and sat down on the stairs he had been going down. Placing his elbows on his knees, he rested his head in his hands. "I just don't know what to do! I…I wish I had _something_ to help clarify everything!"

He felt like he was encased in darkness. He thought it was despair rising up again, but perhaps it was madness? Xerxes had long since lost the ability to distinguish the two. 'Help…help…I need help…' he muttered in his mind over and over. Then, he felt something strange. It was like his very soul was being tugged at by something and his ears were beginning to ring. Gasping, Xerxes removed his hands from his head and covered his ears, bringing himself back to reality. He calmed down after the ringing stopped.

'What on Earth was that?' he thought. He waited to see if it would happen again, but it didn't. 'Sigh… well; I suppose I should go back to my room. At least pretend to get some sleep.' He stood and turned around to begin walking upstairs and head toward his room, but then he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw a book. 'That…wasn't there before…' he picked it up, looking it over, There was no title, no author. It was leather bound and had silver trimmings. 'What the hell? What is this?' Curiosity peaked; Xerxes tucked the book under his arm and made his way back to his room.

Once safely inside, he locked his door and turned on the lamp by his bed. After getting comfortable, he opened the book and began to read. By the time he had finished, he was so confused. It made little to no sense whatsoever. It was all over the place, like it was some sort of nonsensical writing. The only thing he truly got out of it was the term 'Core,' which seemed to be synonymous with 'Abyss.' Wait…Core? Abyss? Core of the Abyss? He had heard that before, though he couldn't quite recall where.

'Okay…let's hypothesize for a minute.' Xerxes closed his eyes in thought. 'I know that the term 'Core of the Abyss' predates 'Will of the Abyss' if that is anything to consider. In that case, if I assume that the Core is actually the center of the Abyss, and its creator, then that would make the Will more like a means with which the Core can express itself through. The Core is using the Will to do its intentions, its "will" hence the name. So that would mean that the Core is using Alyss. Like a puppet? Or….more like a…. _host?_ '

Taking a sharp breath, Xerxes laid down fully, looking up at the canopy top of his bed. 'But if that is true, wouldn't that mean that the only way for her to cease being the Will would be to convince the Core to let her go? Okay, that doesn't sound so hard, but…she did not appear to really know that the Core was there, or existed. So assuming she can't talk to the Core herself, I would have to. But how?'

Huffing in frustration, Xerxes opened the book again, only to find the contents had changed. "Wh-what?" the book now was talking about Children of Misfortune. Sitting up hurriedly, he read through the book again as fast as he could. When he had finished, he was shocked.

Children of Misfortune, while being horribly disliked by society, were actually loved and preferred by the Abyss, as the Core was the one that created them. A 'child' of its own that it can use to see the world it makes, and draw inspiration from. As such, each Child is born with innate powers involving the Abyss. Most importantly, a Child of Misfortune had the ability to actually see and communicate with the Core from wherever they were.

Xerxes' heart was thumping widely and loudly in his chest. He was a Child of Misfortune…did that… did that mean that he could do that too? He stood, taking the book with him, and practically ran out of his room and down the many flights of stairs. His only thought was to get to the Rainsworth gate in the basement. While the book said he could potentially do so from anywhere, he had no clue how to go about it, so he figured that being by the gate might help.

In record time he made it to the gate. It was just as he remembered it. Tall, imposing, elegant, majestic. Really, it was quite an impressive sight. Xerxes stood there, staring at the gate for a while, not sure what to do. Eventually, he set the book down on the floor and walked up to the gate. Since the gate key was not there, the doors thankfully stayed shut. He hesitantly placed his hands flushed against the doors before closing his eye and placing his forehead against the door as well.

He made himself go into a sort of trance, clearing his mind and taking deep, slow breaths. Once he had succeeded in that, he began the think of one thing, and one thing only.

 **I wish to visit the Core.**

Xerxes was unsure if this would do anything, but he kept it up. At first, he was certain that it wasn't working. He never even noticed his own eye start to glow. Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly fell, as if he had lost his footing. Xerxes was expecting to feel the hard tiled floor, and was incredibly shocked when he felt himself falling through water instead. It was as if he was drifting further and further down in an endless sea. He was so certain that he wouldn't be able to breathe, and yet it was as if he was truly breathing for the first time. It felt so strange, but so nice. He could get lost in the feeling. It was warm.

After what seemed like hours he finally stopped falling. Now he was floating. It was still so comfortingly warm. He sighed contentedly. He didn't want to open his eyes.

 _ **Heeheeh. My, aren't you a silly one, my Child?**_

"?!" Xerxes jerked, opening his eye. He was floating in a dark space, and could barely see in front of him. "What…? Who said that?"

 _ **Over here, my Child.**_

Xerxes turned around, and came face to face with a glowing white…blob of sorts. Its glow spread out around it like a halo, illuminating and warm. But it wasn't blinding. Xerxes could only look on in awe, his jaw dropped slightly.

 _ **Heeheeh~ My dear, sweet Child, do close your mouth. You are not a fish. Ah, but it makes me so happy that you came here! You are the second one of my many Children to have done so. Happy, so happy…**_

 __Closing his mouth as fast as he could, Xerxes listened on in shock. "H-huh? Wait, wait a minute…does that mean that I'm…that you're…?"

 _ **Yes, my Child. I am the Core. I am the one that created this land you call the Abyss. It was I that created the world you live in, and…it was I who created you, my sweet Child.**_

The Core moved, a long arm-like projection coming out of it. The arm moved toward Xerxes and caressed his cheek. In that instant, Xerxes felt like sleeping. His eye got heavy and he got an overwhelming feeling of safety that he couldn't comprehend. He was so caught up in the feeling that he didn't notice the Core pulling him in and start cradling him lovingly.

 _ **Why, what happened to your eye, my Child? It's…missing? Has someone up there hurt you for your beautiful eyes? I will punish them greatly! I refuse to have any more of my Children harmed due to misconceived notions. So many I have seen before me, wrapped in those horrid black chains by**_ _ **him**_ _ **, only to be torn apart piece by piece until nothing is left. I could not do anything to stop it. I had entrusted my Children to**_ _ **him**_ _ **under the notion that**_ _ **he**_ _ **would take care of them…**_ _ **he**_ _ **never did. All**_ _ **he**_ _ **ever did was murder them! I couldn't stand it! So…I decided to make another Child that was not related to that blasted, horrid man! My Child would be safe then! No harm could come to them…they wouldn't be killed…and…here you are, my Child. I remember you well. I remember every part of your soul, your being. I remember making you. I am so…proud. You have lived longer than any of my previous Children…I'm so happy…and now, you came to visit. I am happy, so very happy…I could cry…**_

Xerxes stayed quiet, listening to the Core and letting himself be cradled and rocked. He fought to keep his eye opened and pay attention. He was confused by who the Core meant by ' _ **he**_ ,' but Xerxes supposed he could figure that out later. "No one actually harmed me in the upper world…" he began to answer, slurring. "All things considered, I think I was treated fairly well. Ignored and left alone for the most part, but never abused. I lost my eye here in the Abyss…I was speaking with Aly- I mean, the Will. She said she liked my eyes and plucked one out to give to her cat, Cheshire. But it's fine now. I'm not mad. Well…not angry, I don't know if I can honestly say I'm not _mad,_ considering…" The Core laughed, hugging him closer.

 _ **I see. In that case, I suppose I shall not smite anyone today! As for my Will, I apologize for her behavior. I do so love her, but she can be a bit out of line. I am certain she had meant no harm. She just didn't know any better. I am glad that you do not hold it against her. Now then, I believe you came here because you wanted to ask me something?**_

"Ah, yes! Yes I did." Xerxes paused a moment, wondering how he was going to phrase it. The Core…seemed to be just as lonely, if not more so, as Alyss was. He didn't want to phrase his questions in a way that would upset the Core. "I actually have two questions. First, how did she come to be your Will? It seemed like she's been here a while."

 _ **Ah, curious are you? That's good, you should always be curious. Remember how I said you were the second of my Children to come visit me? The first was a daughter of mine, who was murdered a little over a hundred years ago. When she died, she was pregnant with twins. Neither were truly my Children, as they didn't have those lovely red eyes, but I loved my daughter so much. I couldn't let her children die with her. So, I kept one twin and sent the other out. They could easily switch who was who, and take turns seeing the world their mother lived in. I…could have sent both back up, but I admittedly was lonely and they looked so much like their mother, my Child that I adored. I had to keep one with me. Not only did I gain a companion, someone I could nurture, I was also able to keep a fragment…a memory of my dearly departed daughter.**_

Well…that answered a lot of questions. Unfortunately, that also told Xerxes that the Core would not willingly give Alyss up. Hooooo boy… how was he going to ask that? "I see. That's interesting. I'm…glad you found someone to keep you company down here, and…I'm…sorry about your daughter. I suppose that would make her my sister…? Oh nevermind! That's a bit too hard to wrap my head around." The Core laughed happily at him. "Ah! I almost forgot my last question! When I met with the Will, she asked me something. In short, she would like to come, ah…visit the upper world." Okay, that wasn't exactly what she said, but her wish would mean that she would be visiting the upper world so….

 _ **…She wishes to…visit…the upper world?**_

Uh oh… "Um…yes. I couldn't tell if she was just curious about it, wanted to see her sister face to face, or if she just wanted a…change of pace? She looked a little down when I saw her, and dare I say…she also looked a bit…lonely?" The Core was silent, as if thinking over the idea. However, the Core had also stopped moving, a bad sign in Xerxes' eye. He swallowed. "Um…if it would make you feel better…" where was he going with this? "Ah… I… I can stay here with you while she goes to visit. That way, she gets to see the upper world and her sister, and you wouldn't be alone. I don't mind…" Why, oh why did he say that? He didn't really want to stay here. He had Sharon and Reim and everyone else that would be worried about him. Yet, he did promise Alyss. He had to fulfill that wish…and if this was the only way to do so, then so be it. The Core finally moved.

 _ **Ah…that would make it better. I suppose I am being rather mean in not letting her sate her curiosity, and I suppose she would want to actually see and feel her sister, not just speak with her through their minds. Very well. If she wishes to visit the upper world, I will let her. Under the conditions that she return and that you stay here during that time. Sadly, I am unable to speak with her myself. Could I trouble you into talking to her for me, my Child?**_

"Certainly. I will gladly talk to her for you. Although…I am not quite sure how to go about that…"

 _ **That is fine. I will guide you to her room. However, let us do so another day. This is your first time using your powers, and I am afraid I may have kept you too long. Go back and get some proper sleep. I will be here for you when you are ready. I shall return you to your body in the upper world. Sleep well my sweet Child.**_

Before he could comprehend what was going on, Xerxes suddenly felt himself being shot upwards. He tried to scream, but his voice was missing, it would not work. There was painful flash of light, and he closed his eye and blocked it out with his arms. When he opened his eye next, he was back in front of the Rainsworth gate, collapsed on the floor. Gasping, he shakily pushed himself up. He took a few minutes to collect himself, making sure he was really there in one piece.

Finally finding the energy to stand, he pick up the book and slowly made his way out of the gate room back towards his own. Looking at a nearby clock, Xerxes was shocked to see that the time had not changed at all. What shocked him more was his reflection that he could see through the glass. His eye was glowing. "So that…wasn't a dream…?" he wondered aloud, gently touching his eye. No. It wasn't. The event was burned into his brain. He could actually go into the Abyss and back out without harm. He could see the very being that all of Pandora, all of the Baskervilles had wanted to see for so long! Take that Rufus Barma! What was better, he could grant Alyss' wish, if albeit, only slightly. He felt giddy, he felt like laughing. His chain was already doing that for him, laughing madly in the back of his mind. Xerxes smiled to match. Ah, but everything would have to wait, wouldn't it?

"I'm exhausted." He said, continuing his way. By the time he was back in his room he was dragging his feet, his eye drooping. He had almost fallen asleep a couple times on the way up. He dropped the book on his nightstand and collapsed onto the bed. He was out before he even hit the pillow. The light from his lamp casted a golden haze on him. He smiled as he slept, dead to the world.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all, PickleToast here! So far it seems that people like this story. Even though I have yet to get any feedback on what I wanted, I enjoyed writing this (especially at one or two in the morning, haha!) so here's a second chapter.

Again, as like the last chapter, please let me know if you see any issues with grammar or how it sounds (I did write this at one in the morning after all).

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts, only the storyline. Also, I am aware the characters are OOC, again, I do not care. I had fun writing this and I am still experimenting on writing style.

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Xerxes was normally a very light sleeper, and often woke up before the sun even rose. However, the use of his power as a Child of Misfortune, coupled with the last remnants of strain he had from using Mad Hatter the previous day, had left him so exhausted that instead of his normal light sleep, he had fallen into a rather heavy sleep. Due to this, he did not wake with the sun. When he finally did open his eyes, the sun was well above the horizon.

Blinking owlishly for a minute, Xerxes sat up and stretched. He was looking straight at the headboard of his bed, indicating he fell asleep on his stomach. Rubbing his eye, he looked over at the small clock on his nightstand. It was two in the afternoon. A burst of adrenalin at the shock woke him up completely. He cursed as he raced to get dressed. Once he was done, and making sure he had Emily, he opened his closet and climbed in.

He exited from underneath the china cabinet in the Common Tea Room. Seeing as it was not quite three o'clock, the room was empty. Hurriedly, Xerxes went about to set it up for tea time, wondering what he was going to say to Sharon. No doubt that she would have been wondering where he had been. He normally sits with her during breakfast. He could have said he was busy with something, and while that might work on Gilbert, it would not work on Sharon. She would be able to tell it was a lie. He had no choice but to tell the truth…he had actually overslept….and slept pretty hard. He was actually still a bit tired, but the embarrassment factor that came with it was enough to keep him awake.

Xerxes had only just placed the tray of tea cakes onto the table when Sharon walked in. She looked at him with surprise and relief. "Break! There you are. I was wondering where you had gone off to. I didn't see you at breakfast." She smiled, taking a seat in the chair he had pulled out for her.

"Ah ha ha…yes, well…" he paused a moment to pour her some tea. "I can't believe I am saying this, but, ah…I overslept." There. He said it. Sharon looked up at him stunned.

"Overslept? You? But you hardly ever sleep!" she exclaimed, before becoming serious. "You aren't sick are you? Do you have a fever?"

"I know, I know. But I can assure you, ojou-sama, that I am not sick. I do not have a fever either. I was apparently more exhausted last night than I had thought. I also found myself on my stomach this morning. Perhaps that's what happened. Reim tends to sleep oddly when he is on his stomach, if you recall. I might have the same issue." He said, trying to lighten up the mood a bit and get her suspicions off of him.

"…Alright." Sharon relented, taking a sip of tea. "But if it happens again, I want you to tell me right away, alright? Normally one should always have a good night's sleep, but due to you being a chronic light sleeper that doesn't include you. Sleeping longer could be a sign of illness. At least, that's what Reim told me."

"Now when did he tell you that? I don't recall either of you ever being interested in sleep patterns." Xerxes said, taking the other seat and pouring himself a cup of tea and grabbing one of the cakes.

"A few years ago. We were in the library looking for something and we got sidetracked by a psychology book on sleep."

"Where was I? I don't remember that."

"I believe you were out on an errand for Grandmother."

"Ah, well then." He was about to take a bite out of his fourth cake when Oz walked in, Gilbert and Alice tailing behind him as always.

"Good afternoon!" Oz chirped, before noticing Xerxes. "Oh, Break! It's actually good to see you! Sharon was worried about you this morning." The three took their seats on the sofa and chair close to the table.

"Well, nice to see you too, brat." He huffed out. "And I am well aware of my Lady's worry."

"So nothing's wrong?" this time Gilbert was the one to speak. Xerxes looked at him, taking note of his facial expression. Gilbert was worried whatever had caused Break to be absent that morning was due to yesterday's events. A brief look at Oz and even Alice showed they were thinking the same thing. Well…not quite, but they weren't entirely wrong. The events became the start of what actually happened.

"Nope!" Xerxes said, smiling his usual smile. It was a mix between a fake and an amused grin. "I'm fine. Just had a rather odd start this morning, things to do. Ah, word of advice, don't sleep on your stomach, yes?"

"What?" they were all confused by that last statement. He laughed as Sharon chuckled softly into her hand. "What does sleeping on your stomach have to do with…?"

"Don't ask questions you may not want to know the answer to!" Xerxes cheerfully said, enjoying the looks he was receiving on their faces, especially Gilbert's. Thankfully, the rest of the day went about normally like the past few days, including the daily Alice versus Gilbert argument regarding meat. No one else had tried to ask him about his absence that morning or whether he was okay with what happened with Barma. The only thing that he did get was Gilbert simply asking when he planned on giving Reim back his coat. He replied that he was currently having it laundered. Once it was cleaned and pressed, he would give it back.

By the time night fell and dinner was finished, Xerxes could not have been more eager to get to bed. He told the Core that he would talk to Alyss, and he was hoping to do so tonight. Hopefully, talking to the Will would not be as exhausting as talking to the Core.

As he lay down in bed, he took another look at the book. He wondered how it had ended up on the stairs right where he was…and when he needed it. Then again, he was wishing for something to help him right before the book showed up. Could it be that he caused the book to show up with his power? Well, whatever it was, he was immensely glad for it. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind and closed his eye.

 **Core? If it is okay, I would like to speak with the Will…**

He was hesitant, wondering if the Core would even hear or answer him. He nearly jumped off the bed as a voice echoed through his head.

 ** _Are you certain, my Child? It has only been one day since you used your powers. Would you not rather take some more time to sleep?_**

 **I'm fine. I just want to talk with her.**

 ** _Hmm…very well then. But you will promise me that you will only send your consciousness here and not your soul like you did yesterday. I am worried doing so may strain you. I would rather not see you hurt in any way._**

 **** **I…I can do that. I think…**

The Core chuckled, laughing fondly at him. **_Here, my Child. Let me help you._**

Xerxes suddenly felt as if his whole body was falling, his limbs seemed as heavy as lead. He was light headed for a moment, before the feeling of being submerged in water came over his mind again. He opened his eye and found himself floating again, only this time, his body was not solid. It was misty-like, and sort of see through, much like a ghost. The only color that came from him was his glowing wine-red eye.

"Well." He started, staring at his hands. "This is different."

 ** _Heeheeh, I'm sure it is, my Child. Now then, hold on for a moment. I will send you to my Will's door. Do be careful, alright? Once you are done, just focus on returning to your body. My dear, sweet Child…_**

The Core went silent. Xerxes was going to ask if it was still there, when he felt the sensation of wind blasting over him. He covered his face on reflex. Once it had stopped, he lowered his arms to find himself in front of an arched doorway, blocked by two red drapes. There were familiar sounds of dolls and other such toys laughing and the clinking of tea cups. He could sense the presence of Alyss as well.

Swallowing, he hesitantly made his way up to the doorway and knocked on the side of the arch. Everything went silent. If his body was with him, he would have started sweating. How eerie. Finally, he heard a voice.

"Yes…? Who is it?" The hauntingly familiar voice of the white Alice, of Alyss, spoke. Curiosity was clear in the tone.

"…You know me as my previous name, Kevin…" he said softly, but loud enough for her to hear. "I wish to speak with you briefly. It's in regards to your wish." No sooner as he had said that, the drapes drew apart, startling him. In front of him stood Alyss, looking no different than when he had seen her last.

"Ah, Kevin!" She said, happily. Her eyes seemed bright and her smile wide and innocent this time. "Come in! Come in! We'll talk inside!" she said, somehow grabbing onto his misty arm and dragging him inside toward her table. Looking around, Xerxes noticed that the room was also the same as last time…although he was certain that some of the dolls and toys were either missing or were different.

Once they reached the table, Alyss quickly sat down in her favorite seat. Xerxes sat down in the remaining seat. He decided to speak first. "It has certainly been a while, I apologize for that. You look well." Alyss seemed to brighten more.

"I am doing well. Thank you for asking! I also forgive you for taking so long; at least you are here now! But oh! You look quite different."

"Ah, yes." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Last time I was here, my hair was longer. My personality was also quite different. I seemed to have gone through a…change of sorts when I left. I think the Abyss affected me more than I had thought. Normally, any human would have mutated or changed into a chain within the time I was here. But since I am a Child of Misfortune, a Child of the Abyss, instead of changing physically, I ended up having a mental change instead."

"A mental change? Child of the Abyss?" she looked confused.

"A Child of Misfortune is a Child of the Abyss. I am one because I was born with red eyes, like all Children of the Abyss are. We…I was actually created by the Core." He paused to let that information sink in. When Alyss nodded in understanding, he continued. "As such, the Abyss itself is actually nicer to me than other humans. Apparently the Abyss likes Children of Misfortune. Due to that, my body and soul, mostly, were unharmed. However, my mind was a different story."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm admittedly not that good at explaining things like this, but I will try. Madness took over and memories, thoughts, everything became torn and scattered. I was very much like a walking vegetable for a while. I could not tell who or what I was, everything was so jumbled. It was not until I got my new chain, Mad Hatter, that things started to settle. Long story short, everything that was Kevin no longer was. There was nothing left of him other than a peppering of memories and a very important promise. Hatter was created from some part of Kevin that remained, mostly from the madness that had collected itself in the back of his mind and soul. But there had to be a person, a being, a persona to control the body, to be able to interact with society. Hatter could not do that. Therefore, the rest of Kevin came together, much like a patchwork quilt. Sticking pieces together here and there, until a working person was made…that would be me."

Alyss was silent for the moment, as she took everything in. "So…you are not Kevin…but yet you are?"

"In a sense, yes. I was made from Kevin. Sadly, 'Kevin' no longer exists. But I do now, and that promise he made to you was important enough to make it unharmed through the onslaught of madness. Therefore, that promise he made is a promise I made. I made that promise; I will grant it…to the best of my ability."

"Alright, that makes sense." She said, tilting her head slightly to the side. "But…if you aren't Kevin, who are you?"

"I go by the name Xerxes Break."

"Xerxes Break. Xerxes…" she said, as if testing the sound of it on her tongue. Finally, she smiled. "I like it! Xerxes!" He smiled at her.

"Ah, actually…I was wondering if I may call you by a different name."

"Oh? Why?"

"From where I am in the upper world, as I'm certain you are aware, your sister sometimes resides with me at the Rainsworth manor. Referring to both of you as 'Alice' has gotten to be quite confusing. While it would make better sense to give your sister a different name, seeing as 'I' met you first, everyone else up there knows her and her only as 'Alice'. So, I was thinking that since you were Alice of the Abyss, that I might call you 'Alyss' instead. It sounds similar enough to Alice, but it's different. Different names, though similar sounding, for a pair of twins that are different in personality, to give a sense of individuality." He said, hoping he hadn't insulted her.

It was quiet save for the soft murmurs of the dolls as she thought it over. Xerxes gripped at his pants, praying that he hadn't upset her. Thankfully, it appeared as though luck was actually on his side this time, as she slowly pulled her lips into a huge grin. "Alyss…" she whispered. "Alyss…" she said louder. "Alyss…Alyss!" she started to laugh happily. "Alyss! I love it! I shall be Alyss! Xerxes can call me Alyss! He named me Alyss!" she started to dance and twirl around the room. The dolls joined in, happy that their Lady was happy. Xerxes relaxed a bit into his chair and watched her dance about, with a fond look in his eye. She truly was just a child, a little girl, who was simply lonely. He had felt a similar sense of parental feelings towards Sharon and even Oz and Alice beforehand, but it seemed now, looking at Alyss, that those feelings bloomed more than ever. Perhaps Sharon's nickname for him, 'Xerxs-nii' was not too far off the mark after all.

Xerxes couldn't help but chuckle as he watched, placing his hands in his lap and crossing his legs. "I'm glad you like it, Alyss." She turned back to him, beaming. She suddenly ran over and hugged him. Shocked, Xerxes wrapped his misty arms around her and hugged her back.

"Thank you, Xerxes. No one has ever given me anything like that before, not even Jack. Thank you!"

"You are very welcome, Alyss."

"I like hearing my new name coming from you." She sighed, content.

"Haha. Well, shall we see if your good mood can get better? I will admit right now that I have not found a permanent solution to your wish, but I have found a temporary one."

Alyss stood back, looking at him confused. "A temporary solution? What do you mean?"

"The only way that you can cease being the Will, is if the Core of the Abyss is persuaded to let you go. I was able to talk with the Core yesterday and unfortunately…" Xerxes paused a moment to breath. "The Core is very, very lonely and is not willing to let you go completely. However, I was able to…bargain a deal with it."

"…What kind of deal?" Alyss asked, suspicion and worry creeping into her voice. Xerxes looked up at her and smiled softly.

"You can go to the Upper World and meet with your sister and Oz and everyone else, on two conditions. The first is that you have to return at some point. The second condition…well that one doesn't need to concern you."

"Tell me. Please?"

"…Very well. The last condition is that while you are visiting the Upper World…someone has to stay behind here, to keep the Core company. The person who has to stay behind…would be me." Everything stilled as he finished, Alyss' eyes became shadowed briefly.

"So what you are saying is…is that the price for my freedom is…yours?"

"I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes."

"…" Alyss remained silent. Xerxes began to worry, his brotherly and parental instincts screaming at him to console her.

"It's alright though! I don't mind, really. I had promised that I would find a way to let you see the Upper World, to set you free from here, didn't I? If this is the only way to do so, than I am willing to pay the price. I'll be fine, and I know that everyone up there will not blame you for it. In fact, I'm certain they will all love you. Sharon and Cheryl-sama are very nice, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that they will adore you. As for Oz and Gilbert, give them a little time to get to know you and they will love you too, just like they love your sister. And I doubt Alice could truly hate you. Sisters, and all siblings in general, tend to argue and fight, but they can never hate each other. You'll be fine. Just promise me that you will avoid the Nightray house and Rufus Barma, especially Rufus Barma. He almost had me dragged to Pandora's dungeons to get information out of me about you. I told him nothing past brief mentions. If he were to find you…I don't know what he would do. He's a dangerous man, Alyss, so please stay away. If you can, try to always have someone with you, just in case. Sharon ojou-sama, Cheryl-sama, Gilbert, Oz-kun, Alice-kun, and my best friend Reim are good people to trust." He would have continued on, but was interrupted.

"No! I-I…" Alyss started to shout, shaking. "I-I…I don't want that! I don't want my freedom to come at the cost of yours! I don't want anyone to have to bear this same burden! I don't want to be up there without you! Especially knowing you aren't there because of me! You…you're one of the only few people that are nice to me and you're the only one that has managed to visit me, twice now! You gave me a name, and you went through so much pain and complications just to grant my wish! Even though I've hurt you and caused you problem after problem…I ruined your life and still you-!" she was crying now. Xerxes stood up and wrapped her in as tight a hug as his misty form would allow.

"Shh. Shh…please don't cry. It's okay! It's okay. I don't hate you for what happened, most of that was my fault to begin with. It's okay, Alyss. I forgive you. So please…don't cry." God knows how he hated crying children; he never knew what to do about it. Alyss clung onto him and continued to sob into his chest. Looking around, Xerxes spied a small two-seater sofa nearby. It took a bit of expert maneuvering; he managed to get them to the sofa. He sat down and twisted to lie out as much as he could on it, pulling Alyss with him so that she was now curled up on his lap, still clinging to him and crying.

He began to gently stroke her hair, humming a nameless tune, hoping to calm her down. After some time she finally calmed, her sobbing becoming hiccups here and there. Xerxes continued to stroke her hair and hum, knowing that if he moved now he risked the chance of Alyss starting to cry again. They stayed that way for a while, before Alyss finally spoke.

"I don't want to go if it means I can't be there with everyone, including you." She said weakly. "I did want to go, to leave…but not if the cost is your freedom. I've been here my whole life, I was born here. You weren't…you shouldn't have to be here in my place. You don't deserve that."

"You don't deserve it either, Alyss." Xerxes retorted. "I have lived up there and experienced it. I will admit that the idea of not seeing everyone, whom I've come to care about so much, makes me sad. However, you never had a chance, or a choice, to be up there. You've been here 'all your life' as you said; you deserve to go see the Upper World, more than anyone. As I said before, I do not mind staying here, so long as you stay safe and have a good time."

"No…nuh-huh." Alyss shook her head, still buried in his chest. She sounded very much like the young girl she was. Xerxes smiled sadly.

"I know, I know…" he continued to just hold her.

"How about something else instead?" She suddenly asked.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"How about you just come and visit me occasionally…frequently…" she started, sounding a little embarrassed. "That way, you won't have to give up your freedom and I won't be lonely because I get to see you." There was an unspoken 'I'll get to have you all to myself' in there somewhere, making Xerxes laugh softly.

"If that is what you want, then that is what I shall do." She looked up for the first time and smiled widely, her lavender eyes rimmed in red and her cheeks puffed. She hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Xerxes…"

"You're welcome, Alyss." He hugged her back. It was then that he began to feel a bit out of sorts, and figured it was probably time to head back. He sincerely hoped that he would wake up earlier than he had that afternoon. If he woke up late again he was certain that Sharon would inform Reim, and once she did that there would be no force on Earth that would be able to save him from being dragged off to the doctor and getting lecture after lecture about taking care of himself properly.

"Alyss? I'm afraid I need to head back now. I will come back and see you again as soon as I am able, which I am hoping will be either tonight or tomorrow night. Will you be alright?" She tightened her grip for a moment before letting go.

"I understand. Thank you again, Xerxes. I can't wait for you to come back. We'll have a tea party!"

"Haha! I look forward to it." He said, before doing something he normally wouldn't do to anyone but Sharon. He leaned forward and kissed Alyss on her head, a promise that he would return. Remembering what the Core had said, he focused on his body back inside the Rainsworth mansion. There was a pull at his being again, before the sudden weight of gravity and darkness enveloped him.

He blearily opened his eye to see his purple canopy. Blinking, he carefully sat up, rubbing his eye and head. He looked over at the clock and saw it was a little after nine thirty in the morning. "Well, at least I'm not late like yesterday. I'll still be a little late for breakfast, but I can make it." He said, stretching before getting up. Putting on his favorite outfit and making sure Emily was safely on his shoulder, he made his way down to the dining room.

Luckily, he had made it just as some of the other servants were bringing in the food. Luck continued to be on his side as Sharon did not mention anything about him being a bit late. She must have thought he was busy 'organizing' his candy stash, which he did do on a regular basis. Life continued on as normal, only now Xerxes would spend every other night with Alyss. She seemed incredibly happy to have him visit and he could sense the Core was just as happy, if not relieved that neither of them were 'leaving' it. He smiled warmly into his tea cup as he listened to Alyss tell him some fantastical tale she had just made up. He couldn't help but wonder how long this tranquil routine would continue before something either interrupted or ruined it.

As it turned out? Not long at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey all! PickleToast here! I want to thank everyone who has read this so far and especially those who have commented and replied! So first and foremost, I want to address the comments I have received.

Moni99: I am extremely happy that you feel that the characters are not OOC! That was like the icing on my cake! As for the part you were confused about, don't worry! I myself am confused as well! I figured that as I continue to write, I'll get a better understanding of what it is I'm trying to say and when I do I will go back and edit that explanation. Though he does say that he is "bad at explaining this sort of thing" so maybe I can get away with not editing it? Yes? No? Okay…

Midnight Ouroboros: I'm so glad you enjoy the story~ Please continue to enjoy!

Again, to anyone, if you have an idea of something you'd like to see happen, let me know! I'll see what I can do to add it in or make a little side story off it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts. Only the storyline of this fanficiton. Enjoy!

Note: The following chapter is bound to have confusion all over the place. I have tried to alleviate some of it, but if not let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix it. Also, as a reference:

 **Bold:** mental talking to the Core

 ** _Bold Italics:_** the Core talking

 **Bold Underline** : mental talking between Alyss and Xerxes

 _Italics:_ thoughts/flashbacks

-LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK-

The Abyss holds mastery over time. That meant that all timelines stem from the same Abyss, as it is their origin. It is this particular attribute that allowed Alyss, as the Will, to change timelines. It would then only make sense that Alyss would be able to experience certain events again, especially events that involved a person that was on her mind constantly.

She was sitting at her table, holding one of her rabbit dolls on her lap and drawing a picture for Xerxes when she heard the sound of a person being dropped into her room. Another illegal contractor. She sighed, but smiled and waited patiently for the person to wake. It didn't take long before her dolls began to make a cacophony of noise.

"He's awake! He's awake! Ahaha!" they chanted.

"Silence everyone. You'll scare him." She said calmly, getting up and twirling around. "Hello. My name's Alyss. What is yours?" she asked politely, remembering her manners. She had yet to actually look at the person. After seeing so many, she didn't like seeing the condemned person, especially since nine times out of ten they were incoherent and already warping into a chain.

"Al…yss?" she heard the person whisper. She startled, gasped. That voice! She whipped her head around and froze. Her breath was caught in her throat. Logically, there was no way she should be seeing who she was seeing. On the other side of that logic though, considering this was the Abyss, it made perfect sense. She was re-experiencing an event that in one timeline had already occurred, but was currently occurring in a different one. Since she was at the center, being the Will, she would see it. Still though, it was so surreal to her, to be seeing who she was seeing.

But there was no doubt. That familiar white hair and shade of red eyes…she would recognize those anywhere. But…that hair was long, not short, and there were two eyes, not one. 'Xerxes…?' she thought.

 _I was made from Kevin. 'Kevin' no longer exists. Everything that was Kevin no longer was._

 _Peppering of memories._

 _Came together… patchwork quilt… sticking pieces together here and there. A working person was made…_

 _I go by the name Xerxes Break_

No. It was definitely **not** Xerxes that was now in front of her. **It was Kevin**. Before she could do anything, a figure formed behind Kevin, speaking in a booming voice. "Will of the Abyss! I have wanted to see you for so long!" She recognized him as Albus the White Knight.

"Ah…did you bring the guest here, Albus? Thank you." She said, touching the sword he held out to her. Indeed, it really was Kevin. All the memories she was obtaining from Albus about him were the exact same as what she obtained the first time. _But…._

She had to think, and think fast. Albus certainly did not care much at all for Kevin, seeing him as only a vessel to come meet her. Kevin was still his own person. He _wasn't Xerxes_. At least, not yet. She didn't want him to be though. She still partially blamed herself. Xerxes was created from Kevin because _Kevin died_. He died because of the Abyss…because of her. She didn't want to do that again. Suddenly, she had a thought.

'Xerxes said he was not Kevin, he was made from him, but he was not him. Does that mean…that they could exist together?' She knew what she wanted to do. An idea was starting to form in her head. A potentially devious one at that. One that she knew could rival the ones Xerxes' mad mind could come up with. But first, there was one little issue to take care of…

"Ah, so your name is Kevin? I see, I see. Your master died and you felt guilty about not being able to protect him, so you thought to come and change the past." She smiled at his shocked expression. "Oh, no need to look so surprised. I know about everyone that comes to my room." She walked closer to him. "But I wonder if that was a truly wise idea. Now that little girl is truly all alone." She knew exactly how to provoke him; it was what she was hoping for.

Kevin, in shock and anger, lashed out, holding his dagger above Alyss. "You don't know anything!" he said, more to himself than to her. Albus took the bait and threw Kevin off Alyss, a bit harder than he needed to. Kevin had lost his grip on the dagger and was currently holding his chest, where he had been hit.

"I will not tolerate anyone who tries to harm the Will!" the chain said in anger. Alyss hid the sinister smirk on her face with her hand. There it was: the perfect opening to get rid of this pest. He was in the way of what she wanted to do. He had practically used Kevin for his own wishes, quite unlike the other chains who just wanted to feed. It would be so easy to twist and manipulate what had happened to make Kevin the victim as well. That; and she now had more 'evidence' for such a thing. He had just ruthlessly hurt his contractor after all. Of course, that made her very angry. She had come to love Xerxes, and in turn, she had also come to love Kevin as well.

"Why did you do that?" she said, eyes shadowed. Albus turned to her, confused. "We were just talking. I wanted to talk to Kevin. Why did you interfere?" she asked, before repeating the same thing she did last time, and destroying Albus, making him nothing more than a brief, small shower of dark blood as the dolls laughed. Kevin looked on in something caught between shock, awe, and horror. "There! Now that he's gone…" she said, walking calmly over to Kevin. "We can talk!" She smiled, cheerily. She grabbed Kevin's hand and pulled him up and then dragged him over to the sofa, as it was closer. "Come! Come! I have much to talk to you about and not that much time!"

"Wh-what?" Kevin was at a loss for words. He let himself be dragged and sit down where Alyss had indicated. "Talk? What do you mean? What do you want to talk about?"

"The Abyss holds mastery over the flow of time. That's what I've been told, and it is true. However, that means that multiple different timelines exist simultaneously, and each timeline is connected here at the center of the Abyss. So sometimes, I see the same people and events multiple times."

"So then…are you saying you've already seen….me before?" Kevin asked slowly, begging to grasp what he was being told. Alyss was pleased that he was catching on so fast, no wonder where Xerxes got it from.

"I have! And I have met with him recently too! He comes by often to visit!" now Kevin looked confused. Ah, that's right. Kevin never figured out about his powers. Xerxes was the one to figure it out.

"He-I…visits you often? How…?"

"It's hard to explain in words… hmm…oh if only he were here, I could simply show you!" She paused a moment, thinking. Then she had a light bulb moment. "I've got it! Wait right here, I'll be back!" She turned and ran to the arched door, leaning out of it. Closing her eyes, she concentrated very hard, much like how Xerxes had described how he made his way to her all those times. She hoped that if she did the same, Xerxes would hear her and come by to visit now.

 **Xerxes…? Can you** ** _pleeeeeaaaasssseee_** **come down here now? I really, really, really, need and want to talk to you! It's super duper important! More important than tea and cakes!**

A couple long moments of silence and she began to worry. Was it not working? She slumped slightly and was about to turn around before she heard Xerxes voice.

 **Alyss? Is that you? What's wrong? What happened? You've never asked for me to come in the middle of the day. Is everything alright? Are you okay?**

She had to smile. She loved that Xerxes fussed over her like a mother hen, seeing as she never experienced it before.

 **I'm fine, Xerxes. But I really need you to get here soon! It's time sensitive!**

She was very pleased with herself for that last bit. She felt a little guilty for playing on his mothering hen senses, but she did need him to get here.

 **Okay, okay. Give me a few minutes to get away from everyone and I'll be there.**

 **Thank you!**

Beaming now, she turned and ran back to Kevin, who still looked just as confused as before. "I just asked your other self to come down here! Once he's here, he can help explain everything!"

Kevin was at a loss for words. Meet his other self? He was having an internal meltdown. From the way Alyss had explained it, however briefly, his other self was definitely older than him, and had come here before with the same intent and wish. Had it worked? Had it failed? Had it ended up being far worse than if he had just left well enough alone? His hands were beginning to shake, and they felt clammy to him. He was at least able to calm his breathing. He was going to ask her a question about his other self, but was interrupted by a glow from the archway and a series of brief knocks.

"Alyss? May I come in?" Kevin found himself as still as stone, his eyes growing wide. That voice…it was his own, but he had not said it.

"Yes, yes, come in!" Alyss said, running over to the archway and dragging him in. "Look who came here from another timeline!" She pointed to Kevin, sounding so proud. Two wine-red eyes met one wine-red eye. Everything seemed to freeze as their gazes met.

Xerxes was dumbfounded. He had never thought, in any amount of time, that he would see his past self in front of him. He was speechless. He wanted so badly to turn to Alyss and ask what was going on, but he could not look away.

Kevin was just as dumbfounded. He wanted to believe that the person standing there next to Alyss was not himself. But…there was no other person it could have been. He had the exact same voice that he did, he was the same height, and he had the same facial features, what he could see anyway. He was shocked to see his other self had short hair, specifically short hair that covered nearly half of his face. He found himself unable to look away.

Alyss smiled proudly. Now, to initiate the second part of her plan. "Don't just stand here, Xerxes! Go sit down! Sit, sit!" She shoved him toward Kevin and pushed him into the remaining seat on the sofa.

"…Xerxes?" Kevin asked confused. His other looked at him again before sheepishly looking away and rubbing his head.

"That…would be me. I go by the name Xerxes."

"What?" Kevin, if it was possible, was even more confused. This was his other self from a different timeline, right? Why was he using a different name?

"Now that both of you are here!" Alyss exclaimed, interrupting and clapping her hands. "Everything can be explained! Talking would just take too long, so I figured I would have Xerxes share all of his memories with Kevin instead!" before either of the two could make a complaint, she grabbed their hands and put them together. She then focused her ability to see the memories of her guests through their chains into the two, redirecting it so that Kevin would see what Xerxes had seen.

It worked spectacularly. Kevin found himself stone solid once again as an onslaught of feelings and memories hit him. Pain, blood, darkness, **_madness_**. One eye being ripped out, a young girl and boy standing over him with very worried and concerned faces. A lovely woman who helped heal him. A mischievous elderly woman in refined clothing. A huge gate. People in uniforms moving about everywhere in a blur. The emptiness, the formation of something not of the Upper World in the back of his mind and soul. The mad, mad laughter as someone new formed in the husk of a man. Tea, cakes, candy, sweets. Everything poured into him, and he knew.

Gasping, Kevin shot back as far as he could, shaking from the heavy memories. Xerxes looked just as shaken. Alyss stood back, watching. No one made a sound as the two men finally caught their breath. Then they looked back up at each other. Kevin swallowed. "So…you…you are…me but not?"

Xerxes shook his head. "No."

"You are Xerxes?" a nod in response. "And…everything that happened to you, as in Xerxes you…was because of me?"

"What?" Xerxes looked confused. "Well…yes and no. I wouldn't be here if you, I mean me as you, never did what I did. But that was me you, not you you. Gods this is confusing."

"But…your eye…"

"What's with everyone blaming themselves for things they didn't do? Honestly. It's fine."

"No! No it's not fine!" Kevin yelled, actually scaring Xerxes. Without realizing what he was doing, Kevin suddenly moved forward, grabbing onto Xerxes and pulled him close. He wrapped his arms around him in a tight hold, burying his head into Xerxes' shoulder. He couldn't help but feel guilty. His actions in that timeline had not only caused what happened to the Sinclair family to become worse, but it had left him without an eye and in pain. What was worse than that was that he had left Xerxes to bear it all. It wasn't Xerxes' burden to bear dammit! He tightened his hug on Xerxes and buried his face further into the crook of his neck, trying to hold in a sob.

Xerxes was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to do, and even if he did know, he couldn't move. Kevin had his arms trapped in his own. He somehow managed to look over at Alyss, who was smiling so happily and tears of joy dripping down her face. Blinking, Xerxes leaned his head onto Kevin's and nuzzled into his hair as best he could in his current position, trying to console the other. As he did so, he spoke to Alyss.

"What…were-are you planning, Alyss?"

"I'm glad you asked!" She said, before promptly ignoring him and skipping back to the entrance and leaning out. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself, like how Xerxes showed her. Once she was satisfied that her mind was calm and empty, she focused all her energy into something she had never done before. She tried to speak to the Core.

 **Core of the Abyss? I…I am not sure if you can hear me. Xerxes said that you couldn't speak to me directly, but I'm hoping that doesn't mean you can't hear me. If you can, then…I have a request. I can change little things in the timelines, but I want a new one made…**

Xerxes watched as Alyss left, a bit put off that he was being ignored. However, he could only assume that whatever she was trying to do, she wanted it to be a secret, a surprise. So instead of calling out after her, he wriggled one of his arms free from Kevin's hold and wrapped it around him in a half hug. Kevin seemed to relax a bit.

Kevin, on the other hand, could care less about what Alyss was doing. He was more focused on Xerxes, who could very well be his other half, his brother even. He couldn't help but feel ice cold guilt tugging at his chest as he thought over all the memories he had seen. He didn't want to believe it, but memories like those couldn't be lies. Swallowing thickly, he slowly pulled back, though he kept Xerxes in his arms. He looked at the single, confused, red eye and almost lost what little control he had over his emotions. Slowly, cautiously, Kevin lifted his hand and brushed the hair away from Xerxes' face.

Their breaths hitched. Xerxes in surprise and slight fear, and Kevin in shock and dread. Xerxes had his left eyelid closed, but being this close Kevin could already tell that there wasn't anything behind it. Moving his shaking hand up Xerxes' face, he traced the eyelid with his thumb. Xerxes bit his lip; he wasn't extremely comfortable with anyone being this close to his left eyelid. On one hand, he wanted to push Kevin's hand away. On the other hand, he could see Kevin's devastated expression, and he knew he couldn't shove him away. Instead, he took a deep breath and opened his eye.

As his eye opened, Kevin's thumb fell into the inside of a truly, very empty socket. Kevin bit his lip now, trying to calm his shaking hand. He didn't want to harm Xerxes more than he already had. No matter what Xerxes tried to say about it not being his fault, Kevin could not see how it wasn't; especially not now that he had the other's memories.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" he whispered, hugging his other's head, pressing his mouth gently on the empty eye.

Xerxes said nothing, as he let Kevin do what he wanted. He did hug Kevin back though and…truth be told? He rather liked feeling Kevin's warmth. It was nice. It reminded him of the hugs he got from Sharon when she was younger and always called him 'Xerxs-nii.' Was this what having an actual sibling felt like? Kevin was about as close to a sibling as he could get, anyway. Their quiet moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice, one that Xerxes knew very well, and one that Kevin only knew through Xerxes' memories.

 ** _My, what a wonderful idea!_**

They were shaken from their reverie, as the Core's voice echoed in their heads. Kevin looked at Xerxes. "Was…was that the Core?"

"Yes, yes it was. Wait, how do you know that? You don't know how to use your powers, do you?"

"I didn't until I saw how you did it."

"That makes sense."

"What was the Core talking about though? What idea?"

"I have no clue. But I have a feeling we're going to find out soon…" The room started to spin around the two, and everything darkened.

"You mean like right now?"

"So it would seem." The sofa vanished and the two found themselves falling. They had no time to shout before they felt something wrap around them and halting their descent. Looking up, they saw the glowing white mass that was the Core. It released a very happy sound as it pulled the two of them closer, completely surrounding them in its presence.

 ** _Ah…my dear sweet Children…I never would have thought, or even hoped to be able to hold two of you at the same time. My Will has just given me a wonderful idea, a request, one that I will gladly do…as it will also be to both of your benefits._**

"What do you mean?" Xerxes asked, being more comfortable with speaking to the Core than Kevin was.

 ** _Being as both of you are very different, you can both exist together simultaneously. While I originally made you to be an only child, due to your unique situation, I can make both of you together, as identical twins._**

"Identical twins…?" Kevin asked, thinking.

"But, we have the same body. How can we exist simultaneously if we share the same body?" Xerxes asked, not understanding.

 ** _I will make you a new one, my Child. I will make a new body, identical to your twins' so that you may exist separately._**

"A body identical?" Kevin inquired, before a brief fear shot through him. "W-wait! You can't make it identical to the one he has now!" he could feel Xerxes looking at him oddly. The Core chuckled, rocking him for a moment.

 ** _There is no need for such a fear, my Child. I understand where you are coming from, but do know that I will not do that to your twin, my second sweet Child. Now then, please close your eyes and try to sleep. This is going to be difficult and I do not want anything to go wrong. Hold onto each other, alright?_**

Neither had the chance to ask what it was talking about. A searing pain shot through Kevin's chest, leaving him feeling like he had lost his breath completely. His head felt like it was being cracked open, his memories being jumbled, tampered with. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth to the pain, and thankfully passed out.

Xerxes felt as if his whole body was on fire. Tingling, burning sensations ran up and down his body, burrowing deep into his bones and nerves. The worst pain was his left eye. It felt as though someone had poured hot tea into the eye socket. He wanted so badly to grab at it, to try and ease the pain, but he couldn't move at all. The pain being too much to bear, he fainted.

Xerxes finally began to stir; hearing distant voices of what he thought were children. He couldn't quite make anything out though. His body felt cold, clammy, and numb. His breath was quivering and shallow and he was having trouble breathing properly. With all of his current strength, he managed to open his eye. Everything was blurry and he had to blink multiple times to clear his vision. It was then that he found himself seeing a very, very familiar scene.

A young Sharon and Reim were standing over him, looking equal parts curious and worried.

'Wh-what?' he thought as he simply stared at them in shock. 'How? What did…? When did…? How?! I'm back here…? But-but-!' it was then that a soft groan caught his attention. Looking just a little to his right, he saw someone that had not been there originally. Kevin was right next to him, looking a bit worse for wear. His skin was somehow paler than his own and he was shaking, his rapid breathing indicating a possible fever. Xerxes was stunned. Somehow, the Core had shot both he _and_ Kevin out of the Rainsworth gate.

"Sharon-sama, go get your mother and the doctor!" he heard little Reim's voice command, followed by a sound of confirmation and small footsteps running away. He looked back up to see the younger Reim had sat down next to him. Reim leaned over and hesitantly brushed away his hair from his face and Xerxes got the biggest shock of his life.

He could see Reim…with **both eyes**. The Core had given him his eye back! He focused momentarily on the rest of his body. He couldn't help the tears that started to form as he realized that the Core had not only given him his own body, to just be Xerxes and not Kevin…it had also fixed all of the health issues he had been having. Reim's small, warm hand brushed over his cheek, wiping away some tears.

"It's okay! It's going to be okay. You're alive! Both of you are going to be fine! Shelly-sama and Cheryl-sama will know what to do." He said, and _Gods he sounded so young_! Xerxes couldn't help but laugh. His best friend was a child again! He had gone back in time, again! He…he…he had a chance to fix all of the mistakes he made the first time around. But now he had Kevin, no….he had a twin by his side. Oh what fun this was going to be!

"Reim! There you are! What's going on? What happened? Wh- is he laughing?" the unforgettable voice of Shelly sounded throughout the room, and Xerxes couldn't hold it back anymore. He fell into a fit of hysterics. Cheryl's voice reverberated next.

"Good Heavens! He's gone mad! What in the world has he experienced in there? Reim, go back up with Sharon, and send for Rufus and some members from Pandora. Shelly, my dear, help me try to move them away from the gate." Xerxes couldn't remember much about what happened next, caught between laughing and crying. The only thing he could remember was clinging onto Kevin for all his worth, and gentle hands running through his hair, trying to calm him down.


	4. Chapter 4

Greetings everyone! PickleToast is back again! Here's the next chapter, I hope you all like it! I already had this part done for some time and was tweaking it the last couple of days, so there should not be any grammar issues! :)

Anyway, so I've been thinking about the whole "how Mad Hatter formed" issue from two chapters ago, as myself and others were confused by it, so let me try to explain a bit more now:

After escaping from the Abyss, Kevin slowly began to lose his sanity. While his body was unaffected by the Abyss, it still left a heavy impact on his mind and soul. Being as he was now outside of the Abyss, the affects took a longer time to take hold and hence a slow decent into madness. Now, I have always headcannoned that the source of Hatter's powers is its own madness. After all, you'd have to be pretty mad in order to completely and utterly destroy your own kind, much less just outright deny their very existence. Thus, I see madness, from the perspective of the Abyss, to be very corrosive and destructive, spreading like a disease.

The madness growing in Kevin's mind was influenced by the Abyss and thus morphed into the corrosive Abyssal Madness instead of the normal madness that the humans think of. Kevin is human, and not a being from the Abyss, so the madness he was accumulating did not and could not affect him physically. So instead it 'attacked' the only thing it could: Kevin's memories.

The madness ate at them and destroyed quite a bit, causing Kevin to essentially lose who he was, becoming something close to a doll. However, as the madness ate at the memories it grew and eventually started to gain its own awareness. In its new awareness, it did not want to harm its host, its human any more than it already had. Therefore, it pulled itself together so that all the madness was located in only one part of Kevin's mind. It had hoped doing so will allow Kevin to heal. Unfortunately, there was too much damage for 'Kevin' to ever come back.

Feeling terrible for being the cause, the madness tried to fix things and bring its human back. It took whatever memories were left and tried to patch them together in a way that sort of made chronological sense, hoping that would be enough to bring its human back. While it didn't work exactly the way the madness wanted it too, 'Kevin' was able to move again, and speak and function. Over time, with the help of Shelly, Sharon, Reim, and Cheryl, new memories formed and over powered the stitched up memories of Kevin. From these new memories came a new person, that person was Xerxes Break.

When Xerxes went back into the Abyss, after joining Pandora, the Abyss took the accumulated madness in his mind and soul and gave it a more solid form, a more structured and sophisticated mind of its own, and thus Mad Hatter was formed.

Wow! That was a long winded explanation, but I felt it was necessary in order to avoid further confusion. I hoped this helped.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts or its characters. I only own this storyline and the concept of madness and the formation of Hatter, as seen above. Now please enjoy!

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Kevin began to wake up, feeling rather horrid. His whole body ached and he felt like his head was going to explode. What had happened? Last he remembered, he and Xerxes were with the Core, and then…

Wait, where was Xerxes? Kevin's eyes shot open when he couldn't feel the other. He was staring up at a dark green canopy. It took him a few minutes to realize he was in a bed, back in the Upper World. His heart continued to pound in his chest as he wondered briefly if everything had been a dream, but he knew that couldn't be true. He did not recognize this room, and the aching he was feeling was very much real.

He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, taking a moment to steady his breathing. He was still in the same clothes that he was wearing when he had gone into the Abyss, though his outer cloak was missing. With a sudden thought, he quickly undid the upper buttons of his shirt and looked down at his chest. The completed seal was still there, but…

"Why is it red? It was black last time I checked…" he murmured, staring. Indeed, the seal on his chest was a bloody red instead of a sinful black. But why was it…? A memory hit him like a steam engine.

He was standing in front of the graves of his master and the rest of the Sinclair family. He gazed at their headstones sadly. He felt terrible. He knew, logically, that their deaths were not his fault. His master's youngest daughter had wanted to go see the market place so badly that day, as there was to be some sort of play going on and his master had asked Kevin to go with her. There had been nothing that day to denote that something would happen to them, so Kevin had bowed and took the little miss to the market to see the play.

Even so, the image of the rest of the family laying there in a bloody mess was forever burned into his mind. If he had stayed, would he have made a difference? Or would he too be buried six feet under like his master? He didn't know. But, despite the overwhelming feeling of sorrow and guilt and the wishes that he could have done something, he knew that there wasn't anything he could have done. He still had a job to do though, the little miss still needed him, and she was still alive. That was enough for him.

He closed his eyes to whisper his final prayers and goodbyes, when a deep, almost grizzly voice spoke behind him. "Do you want to change the past?" He gasped, turning around, before his eyes grew wide. There was a large, white suit of armor with eerie glowing eyes and two large broad swords. It was floating.

"Wh-what?"

"Do you want to change the past? I can help you with that, but in return I want you to help me see the Will of the Abyss." It said, creeping closer. Kevin took a step back. Change the past? Will of the Abyss? He had no clue what this thing was talking about. He swallowed hard.

"Change the past…? There's no such thing. No such thing. It can't be done."

"Ah, but it can. I can tell you, show you. You can have your dear master back…you can save him…save them from this fate. All you have to do is make a contract with me." The thing was practically breathing down Kevin's neck. He had never felt so scared before in all his life.

"What are you…?" he asked, terrified. He could have sworn the thing in front of him was grinning wickedly.

"I am Albus the White Knight. I am a Chain that has come from the Abyss."

"The Abyss? I thought…I thought that was just a myth…"

"It's very real alright. So then, human, do we have a deal?"

"What?"

"Do we have a deal? You help me get to the Will of the Abyss, and I will help you change the past." Kevin had to admit, those honeyed words did sound awfully nice, convincing. However, he knew his luck, and knew better than to trust something like the…Chain before him.

"I-" he started, before stopping for a minute, the young miss flashed through his mind, crying over the coffins and begging him not to leave her alone. "I-uh…..No." he shook his head. "No. We do not." He said with more conviction. The Chain seemed incredibly confused, as if it hadn't expected to be rejected. "While it is a nice thought, changing the past so that my master would live, I do not wish to do so. It is best to leave well enough alone. Trying to change it would only result in more sorrow. So no, I do not wish to change the past. I am sorry; Albus the White Knight…but I cannot help you in your quest. You will have to find someone else. I'm certain that there are plenty of other people out there who could help you better than I." He said, somehow moving away. He started to leave, wanting nothing more than to just _get away_.

"Insolence." The Chain spoke, and suddenly Kevin found himself pinned to a nearby tree, the Chain holding him up by his neck. He gasped for breath and struggled to get free, but the Chain was too strong. "Fine then. I do not care what you want. But I will complete my quest to meet the Will, and to do that, I need a human. You will help me, whether you want to or not." The chain then sliced open its finger, drops of dark blood spilling forth. Kevin struggled more, but was helpless has Albus pried open his mouth and shoved its bleeding finger in.

The horrid taste of iron and soot filled his senses. He choked, trying not to swallow the rancid, thick liquid. The Chain was getting impatient, and shoved the bleeding appendage down his throat until he had no control over his swallowing. He was hyper aware of the blood dripping freely down his throat. It was only then that the Chain let him go. He crashed into the ground, coughing and spitting, trying to get the taste and the blood out of his mouth, out of his body.

A pain, worse than anything he had ever experienced, hit his heart. He screamed and grabbed his chest. He was well aware of himself squirming and flailing around on the ground in pain. Dark laughter filled the air as he blacked out. He would wake up later to find himself covered in blood not his own, and a bloody tattoo-like mark on his chest, the clock hand already moved by two ticks.

Kevin came out of memory lane, eyes huge and breathing frantic. Oh God…oh God! He… Kevin closed up his shirt and collapsed back onto the bed, staring up in horror. He had been nothing but a puppet…used by that Chain to perform horrid deeds. He was punished for sins that were not really his own. Albus had taken over his body… he briefly wondered if that counted as rape. Words flowed through his head, soft, feminine, and filled with sorrow and adoration.

 _A black seal indicates a willing contract. A red seal indicates a forced contract, a contract formed without the consent of the human contractor. Don't worry, Kevin. You are innocent, a victim of the actions of the Chain known as Albus the White Knight._

"Alyss…" he whispered, slowly calming down. It was then that everything else fitted its way into his memory. Alyss…talking about seeing events and people multiple times…the Core…Xerxes….

"Xerxes!" He shouted, shooting up in bed. How could he have forgotten his new twin? Looking around, Kevin could not see him. Where was he? He was about to climb out of the bed and go looking when the door to his room almost slammed open, making him jump. He turned and saw his new brother standing there. Kevin sighed in relief. "Xerxes! There you are. What ha-"

He was cut off as Xerxes practically body slammed him back into the bed. He felt his twin cling onto him in a similar manner that he had done to him back in Alyss' room. Only now, Kevin could tell that there was something wrong. Xerxes was crying, sobbing really, and laughing all at once. Kevin panicked. He wrapped his own arms around Xerxes and rolled them over so that they were on their sides. After placing his head on top of Xerxes, Kevin began to rub circles on his twin's back.

'Okay, Kevin, calm down.' He thought to himself. 'Xerxes is fine…physically. He's having a fit of hysteria I think. Most likely from what happened. It hurt for me, what I can remember of it; I can only imagine how it must have hurt him…considering he got a new body. Hold on, a new body?' Kevin took in a sharp breath as something crossed his mind. 'Wait, wait, wait. Hysteria? That's something like madness, isn't it? Prior to what just happened, in his original timeline, he was in a similar sort of state until Mad Hatter manifested. Albeit, he was more of a vegetable than outright expressing the signs. That madness is a part of Xerxes and was the cause of his issues back then…is he having the same issue now? If that is the case…he can't really 'calm down' unless Mad Hatter returns? He didn't originally until Hatter formed anyway, so I assume…' Xerxes seemed to have relaxed in his hold, and Kevin thought he might have actually started to fall asleep.

'If that truly is the case, it should be easy enough to fix. We just have to get Mad Hatter to come back. Just enough of a push and his madness should start to form Hatter all on its own, but…can that happen as Xerxes is now? Or does he need to be in or close to the Abyss again, since Hatter is technically a Chain?' Kevin started to play with Xerxes' hair as he thought. He still had no clue where he was, or when he was. He was fairly certain that Xerxes would not be much help in that regard, in his current state of mind. Wait…maybe he could….? It was worth a shot.

 **…** **Core…? Are you there…?**

Kevin wasn't sure what to expect as he replicated what he remembered Xerxes doing. He hoped that the Core would hear him and hopefully answer some of his questions.

 ** _Yes, my Child. I am here. How are you feeling? Not too terrible I hope?_**

 **No, no…I'm fine. Just a headache…and possibly a fever. Nothing a couple days of rest can't fix. I was wondering if you could answer some questions?**

 ** _Certainly, my Child. You are at the Rainsworth manor, just like Xerxes was the first time. I don't particularly like the inhabitants of the Upper World, as they have never treated my Children fairly. However, I do trust the Rainsworths. They have been the only family, the only people to have treated my Children, Xerxes in particular, as another human being, and not some cursed thing._**

 **I see. Thank you. I have another question though, regarding Xerxes…**

 ** _Ah, yes. His state of mind as of current. I had not expected that to happen, but I suppose it was to be expected. When I gave him his body, he already had Mad Hatter. When he got his new body, since Hatter is a part of his mind and soul, Hatter would still be there…but at this point in time Hatter did not have a form…so all of Hatter's madness is mixed with Xerxes' own. Causing the hysteria and madness fits._**

 **Can it be fixed? I mean…can we get Mad Hatter back?**

 ** _Of course. I can help with that, but to do so, I need you to bring him back to me. You can do so from anywhere. You do not need the Gate._**

 **Alright. I will try to bring him as soon as possible. While it would be better to wait longer, so as not to gain suspicion…I don't want my new twin to continue to suffer like this.**

 ** _Heeheeh~ What a wonderful big brother you are, my dear. I will wait for you two. Just remember that I am always here for you. My Will is here as well. But please, make sure that both of you are okay before you try anymore of your powers._**

 **I understand. Thank you.**

Kevin cut off his connection with the Core and focused on his twin. Xerxes was fast asleep, curled up next to him. Kevin continued to stroke his fluffy, white hair. The following minutes were so quiet that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud squeal.

Turning his head to the door, wide eyed, Kevin saw a woman in a pink gown. The woman had long brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail and champagne pink eyes. She had one hand on the doorway and the other covering her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling. Kevin could have also sworn he saw sparkles around her. He had never seen this woman before, but yet he knew exactly who it was. It was Shelly Rainsworth, the one that had helped and healed Xerxes the first time.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I had no idea you two were having a moment! How undignified of me to barge in! I'll leave you two be." She hurried away, squealing more about twins and cuteness. Kevin couldn't help but shiver in a sudden feeling of dread. Good Lord, even with his twin's memories he had no idea how he had survived Shelly the first time. Kevin wasn't so sure if the both of them could survive her a second time.

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Okay, okay, I know it's a short chapter, but I felt it needed to be since I spent so long talking about how Hatter formed. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Let me know what your thoughts are on Hatter's existence, I'm curious~


	5. Chapter 5

PickleToast is in the house again! Wow, I am on a roll here!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter; I had a great time writing it. Let me know what you think! I am also interested in what goes on in your minds as to what you think will happen next. What do you want to see? Who knows, I might just include it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts or its characters.

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Morning came all too quickly for Kevin, who couldn't sleep after his talk with the Core. There were far too many things going on inside his brain to worry about. First and foremost being Xerxes' condition. He had to fix that soon, but he was still feeling unwell and did not want to risk missing up. Next on his mind was the inevitable conversation he would have to have with the Rainsworth ladies. He wasn't sure what to expect, and while he was certain Lady Shelly was very nice and would not let anything happen to them under her roof, he was also slightly, maybe, just a little bit terrified of her.

Sighing, he shifted slightly, petting his twin's hair. Xerxes was still asleep and curled up next to him. It made Kevin feel happy that his mere presence seemed to be enough to calm his twin. At least…for the time being. As much as he wanted to let him sleep, Kevin knew that sooner or later Xerxes would have to get up, and he would rather be there when that happened.

Gathering up his courage, Kevin gently shook Xerxes' shoulder. "Xerxes, wake up. It's morning." He whispered. Xerxes moaned in response. Finally, after another session of shoulder shaking, Xerxes woke up. Sitting up, Xerxes rubbed his eyes before stretching. He proceeded to look blankly at the wall before he turned his head toward Kevin. It was silent for a few moments as Xerxes processed everything. Then, as if realization struck, he smiled widely.

"Kevin!" He then proceeded to glomp his twin. Kevin laughed softly, returning the hug. Being born an only child, Kevin never really experienced a true 'family hug,' but having Xerxes there was a nice feeling; and in this moment, Kevin couldn't have asked for a better outcome than having Xerxes as his twin.

"Hey…how're you feeling?" Kevin asked, gently, as he started petting Xerxes' hair again.

"I…don't know…" Xerxes stated, hiding his face in Kevin's chest. "I feel like I'm trapped in a fishbowl…a distorted fishbowl full of water, dark water. There are voices everywhere, but I'm not sure if they really are voices or if I'm just imagining it all. My head hurts and hurts and hurts…" he breathed deeply. "But, for some reason, being with you has calmed it all down to just a numbing headache."

Kevin held onto Xerxes a little tighter. "I see…don't worry. You're fine. You're going to be fine. Just…bear with it for a little while longer. I'll fix it soon…we'll fix it soon. Stay by me at all times, if that is what it takes to calm your madness. I don't mind. I just…don't want you to suffer any more than you already have." Xerxes chuckled happily.

"Thank you, brother." He said. For a minute the two sat there on Kevin's bed, peaceful. Xerxes moved away from Kevin briefly, remembering something. "Oh! Right, right, I wanted to show you something! Look!" He moved his hair away from his face, to show his twin that he had his eye back.

Tears formed in Kevin's eyes as he took in the sight of two wine-red eyes on his twin's face instead of that haunting one. The Core did tell him that there was nothing to worry about, guess it was right. Smiling in a way more fitting for his twin, Kevin leaned forward and kissed Xerxes' left eyelid, happy to feel an eye behind it. Xerxes just giggled.

Just as Kevin pulled away, there was a knock on the door. The two turned to stare at the door, Kevin saying "Come in." Both were curious as to who it could be, and were pleasantly surprised to see the familiar face of Shelly Rainsworth. The two, especially Xerxes, wanted so badly to just get up and hug her, but they knew they couldn't. This was in a timeline way before, and so while it pained them to do so; they had to act as though they did not know her.

"Good morning, you two!" she chirped, coming into the room and standing at the foot of the bed. She regarded them with light, warm eyes. "How are you feeling? Better I hope?"

"Yes, madam." Kevin spoke first. "We're feeling much better. But…"

"But?" Bless her heart; Shelly looked concerned for their wellbeing at that.

"You wouldn't happen to have any headache medicine, would you?" Xerxes asked, rubbing one of his temples sheepishly.

"Oh! Of course, I'll send for some right away." She briefly left the room, and the two could hear her speaking with a servant in the hallway. A few minutes later, Shelly returned with a small bottle and a spoon. Pouring some liquid out of the bottle into the spoon, she carefully handed it to Xerxes. Staring at the spoon and liquid offensively, Xerxes pinched his nose and quickly took the medicine, making a face afterwards at the bitter taste. Shelly laughed at him. "My daughter does the exact same thing! At least you take your medicine!"

"Ah ha ha…right, take my medicine…" Xerxes trailed off, getting a knowing look from his twin. They both knew that Xerxes hardly ever took his medicine, for a fear he would lose control over Mad Hatter, causing more of a strain on his body than otherwise. Kevin hoped that issue could also be fixed, but one thing at a time for now.

"Now then!" Shelly said, clasping her hands together, before staring them down. "Might I have the names of my two guests?" Kevin started to freak out inside. Sure, Shelly Rainsworth might be the nicest lady in the world and had helped Xerxes before, but he was certain she would instantly recognize his name. 'Kevin' by itself was a common name, that wouldn't be the problem…but his last name…and the fact he did have red eyes…he feared she would instantly peg him as the Red Eyed Ghost if she heard his name.

"Of course! My name is Xerxes Break!" Xerxes said, before clinging onto Kevin's arm. "And this is my older twin brother, Kevin." Shelly almost squealed at how cute they were.

"I see, so Kevin and Xerxes Break? I must say, I've never seen nor met anyone quite like the two of you. Anyway, I am Shelly Rainsworth. You are currently in one of the Rainsworth family mansions." Shelly explained. "You two gave us all quite the scare, showing up the way you did." Here it was: the inevitable questioning.

"We're very sorry, Shelly-sama." Kevin said, looking appropriately nervous and sheepish. "We…didn't intend for any of that to happen." Xerxes nodded next to him.

"Oh?" Shelly asked, tilting her head and regarding them with naked curiosity. "Then what did you intend to happen."

"We…aren't sure…" Xerxes replied. He quickly looked at Kevin, and started a mental link.

 **What are we going to tell them?** Kevin looked over at him before replying.

 **The Core trusts the Rainsworths. So, I think it would be safe enough to tell them most of everything.**

 **I heard Sheryl-sama calling for Rufus Barma to come though.**

 **Well then. That complicates matters, doesn't it?** Kevin looked uneasy.

 **Play it by ear?** Xerxes suggested.

 **Play it by ear.** Kevin agreed. Shelly hadn't seemed to notice their little inner chat.

"Alright. Well, in any case, my mother, the current Head of the house and the Duchess would like to speak with you." She motioned for the two to follow her. As they trailed behind her, they took in the aesthetics of the mansion. It was an odd feeling of new wonder and old nostalgia for both of them. Xerxes still clung to Kevin's arm, resting his head every so often on his shoulder. Kevin could feel the other's head pounding and winced. He awkwardly moved his other arm around his body to rub his twin's arm comfortingly.

'Don't worry, Xerxes. You won't have to deal with this for much longer. I promise.' He thought, steeling his resolve and will. If he could, he would try and have this issue fixed tonight. But that depended on how well this upcoming talk went with Sheryl. After walking through multiple hallways, Shelly had led them to a set of large, ornate wooden doors. Xerxes recognized the doors as the entrance to Sheryl's study. Shelly knocked on the door.

"Mother, I've brought the twins."

"Oh, wonderful! Please, have them come in." a warm, cheerful voice replied. Shelly opened one of the doors and motioned for the two to enter. The room was big, and full of light from the wall of windows on one side. A fireplace sat on the far wall, not in use as it was not yet cold enough, and a large chandelier provided yet more light. The plush, cream carpet was just as Xerxes remembered, and Kevin took notice of the multiple pieces of china and artwork that decorated the room, like he had seen from Xerxes. In front of the windows was a large desk, and sitting behind it was an older woman, looking just like an older Shelly. Her hair was pulled up in a bun with thick mahogany ribbons falling behind her head. She wore a matching mahogany dress and had a gentle smile on her face, giving her a motherly expression.

The twins took a seat on the small sofa that faced the desk while Shelly took a seat in a plush chair next to her mother. Thankfully, Rufus Barma did not seem to be there. Kevin shifted awkwardly in the following silence, not sure what to say or do. His twin scooted closer to him, trying to clutch his arm. Instead, Kevin took hold of Xerxes' hand, rubbing small circles with his thumb.

"You two seem very close." Sheryl commented, watching the interaction.

"Ah, yes. We are…um…thank you?" Kevin said, not sure how to respond. His confusion must have been noticeable, as the two ladies practically snickered into their hands.

"I feel more comfortable like this." Xerxes started, getting the attention on him and away from Kevin. "I feel better overall being with my twin."

"That's right, that reminds me. How's your headache?" Shelly asked.

"Better, Milady. Though it is still throbbing."

"That is good to hear, at least." Sheryl began. "My daughter has surely asked for your names, but I have yet to learn them."

"I'm Xerxes. My twin here is Kevin. It is nice to meet you!"

"Ah…and also thank you! For, um, helping us earlier." Kevin inserted, not wanting to be rude. Sheryl smiled warmly at him.

"You are both very welcome. I am Sheryl Rainsworth, the current Duchess of this house. Now then, I have some questions that I would like to ask you. You may ask questions as well, but please let me start." After getting confirmation nods from the twins, Sheryl continued. "Do you know of the Abyss?"

'Well she's getting straight to the point, isn't she?' Kevin thought, knowing Xerxes was thinking the same. Well, they did agree to tell them most of everything so… "Yes, Sheryl-sama. We do know of it." Apparently the ladies had not expected them to outright answer like that. He hoped that was a good thing.

Xerxes continued on from where his twin left off, not giving the others any time to come back from the previous answer. "We visit the place from time to time!" Xerxes was well aware of the panicking look Kevin was giving him, but he had an idea. One that would hopefully get the two on their side, offer protection from Barma, and more importantly, get them working for Pandora faster. Another bonus to this would be getting Alyss here.

"You-you _visit_ the Abyss…often?" Sheryl coughed, shocked and confused. Xerxes smiled at her.

"Yes ma'am! We were visiting earlier, and everything started out as usual. But then…" Xerxes looked and noticed Kevin's eyes widening. Ah ha! So Kevin figured out what Xerxes was up to.

"Then something happened that wasn't normal. The place shook and started to fall apart. It was cracking and, pardon the pun, breaking into pieces. The floor practically shattered under us and we fell. Now we're here."

The ladies stared at them, mouths slightly agape and Shelly's eyes wide. "H-how…? How in the world did…do you two manage to enter and exit unharmed?" The twins paused a moment to look at each other, before grinning in matched madness. They looked straight at the two; their wine-red eyes seemed to gleam now, when Sheryl and Shelly clearly remember them not.

"What do you know about 'Children of Misfortune'?" Kevin asked. Sheryl shook off her shock and leaned forward on her desk, looking very serious now.

"They are all marked with the supposed 'cursed eyes' which are stated to be red, like your eyes are. In all writings that we've been able to recover and obtain from the Baskervilles, they are created through a hiccup in the Abyss' power. They are mentioned in those writings as being a sinful existence, ones that should have never been born and their mere existence disrupts the 'harmony' of the Abyss." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "However, I have never quite believed those writings. There was always something off about them. I am unsure as to what about the writings are off, but they just never seemed right to me. My family and I are firm believers in that everyone has a right to live and no one's mere existence is a sin. I am well aware that we know very little about your…kind." She looked the twins directly in the eyes. "Seeing as you two seem to know, would it be much trouble, to ask you to tell me about Children of Misfortune?"

The twins smiled, before Xerxes answered. "Of course not! We'll tell you! On one simple condition." The ladies shifted, looking suspicious now.

"What condition would that be?" Shelly asked.

"Everything that we say in this room stays in this room. In other words, we will only tell you, if you promise not to tell anyone else." Xerxes finished. 'Especially a certain Idiot Duke…' he thought in slight anger. Apparently, Xerxes held grudges just as well as he could devour sweets.

Shelly straightened in her chair, looking surprised. "Oh? By why? Wouldn't you rather have more people know? It is possible that society might start seeing you Children of Misfortune in a better light if they were to know the truth. Not saying that we can't keep it all a secret, we can! I'm just confused that you'd want it to be a secret." Kevin was the one to answer her.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. We don't want it all made public because we refuse to become some sort of scientific specimen to be poked and prodded, used for our power and likely abused for it. Normally, I wouldn't even want to tell anyone, but…"

"For some reason, we feel comfortable with you. We feel that we can tell you and not regret it. We feel like we can trust you." Xerxes said, smiling, leaning on Kevin's shoulder. There was a moment of shock silence, but then both of the Rainsworth ladies began to smile warmly, feeling glad and even humbled that they were being trusted with this precious information. While they would have wanted to at least inform the rest of Pandora, more specifically Rufus Barma, with the claim that Xerxes made, they both knew that they would never, could never, tell another soul.

"Very well, we agree to your terms. Your words are safe with us." Sheryl said. The twins smiled gratefully. Kevin began to speak.

"The term 'Children of Misfortune' is not actually true. It was started by people who feared our eye color, referring to those who had red eyes as 'devil children,' and believing that they only brought about bad luck; hence the name Children of Misfortune."

"But!" Xerxes interrupted, head still on Kevin's shoulder. "Children of Misfortune are actually Children of the Abyss. The Abyss, as I am sure you are aware, is a wide and vast space. Many people, when asked who they believe created the Abyss and everything in it, would say the Will of the Abyss. That is incorrect. The creator is the Core of the Abyss." He stopped, taking in the faces of Sheryl and Shelly. It was obvious that they had thought the Will was the answer. It made him smile.

"The Core, while it created the Abyss and even this world and its creatures, is completely unable to see and observe anything up here. In order to correct that, the Core created humans to live in this upper world. These humans were created directly from and by the Core, and thus have a bit of its powers and presence within them. All of these children have the same trait: red eyes. The Core creates these children as a means through which it can observe this world and gather inspiration for further creations. Thus these children are Children of the Abyss. Xerxes and I are two of them."

"Originally, we weren't together. Kevin was born in the upper world, and I was born in the Abyss. The Core raised me, and taught me how to use my powers. That's when I finally managed to contact and connect fully with my twin. Prior, we would always seem to share each other's memories, without really knowing how we got them. But after we met face-to-face, we knew. Kevin managed to get me out of the Abyss and I've lived with him since. Though we go back into the Abyss occasionally to visit the Core and the Will. They're both kind of lonely and get sad when we aren't there, but they care a lot about us." Xerxes smiled fondly, hoping his lie would work. By the looks on their faces, it did.

"Unfortunately," Kevin continued, "a lot of people don't understand and don't want to understand. They put stigmas on us immediately because of our eyes and I can't even begin to count the number of times we've had to run and hide from others who wanted to hurt us. So many of our 'brothers' and 'sisters' have been put to death just because of our eyes. We don't disturb the harmony of the Abyss, it's our deaths that disturb it. The Abyss used to be such a bright, happy place, but now it's dark and borderline evil. The Core is angry, upset. It hates that its children are being killed, and is starting to show it. I have no doubt that one more killing will throw the Core over the edge, and when that happens… well, the Core created this world and it can just as easily destroy it and take it away. At least, that's what the Core told us." There was silence.

"That was actually the reason there are two of us." Xerxes' quiet voice spoke. "Originally, only Kevin was to be born. But the Core was so paranoid and terrified that something would happen to him that it also created me along with him, but kept me with it. I think its original thought was that if something did happen to nii-san that the Core would still have me, but eventually it decided to bring nii-san in as well. Now there are two of us visiting the Core, keeping it company, keeping it happy, and because we do that the Core adores us, and protects us."

"Which is probably the reason we ended up here. Something was happening in the Abyss, causing it to fall apart, and the Core sent us out of the Abyss to protect us. My guess is that where ever it was we ended up, I assume it was somewhere near here in your home, was the closest connection between the Abyss and the upper world and so sent us through there." Kevin finished.

The Rainsworth ladies closed their eyes and let the story they heard sink in. While it was a very wild tale, it made a lot of sense as well. While they had no proof to support the twins' story, they could tell that they were honest and certainly not lying about it. Cheryl was immensely glad that she was able to speak with the two, or rather, she was incredibly lucky to have the two show up at her gate was perhaps a better answer. She wanted so badly to tell Rufus, to tell him they had been so wrong about the Abyss and the Children of Misfortune for so long. She didn't want to tell him to give him information like he liked, oh no, no, no. She wanted to tell him to rub it in his face that she had been correct all along. But, she promised not to tell, and so she wouldn't. Looking at the twins there was no way she could, in good conscious, do that. Not to them. Oh well. She would just have to be appeased by using the fact they ended up at _her_ gate instead of Rufus' as her teasing material. Oh she did love being able to hold things over her friend's head.

"I see. Well, I thank you very much for telling us. Let me say now that you two are welcomed to stay here for as long as you wish. Now then, have you any questions for us?" Cheryl asked, smiling at the two.

"Yes, actually." Xerxes spoke. Kevin looked at him oddly from the corner of his eye. There was a single question that Xerxes wanted to ask. He didn't need to, but he felt that he had to. After all, things had gone quite differently this time around and he wondered. "What do you know of the Sinclair family?"


	6. Chapter 6

PickleToast here and with another chapter! I think this one might be the longest chapter I've ever done. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! But before that, I did get a comment asking me some questions concerning other elements, such as other Children of Misfortune and Vincent. I will get to them eventually, I promise! But right now, the only ones are Kevin and Xerxes. Once Vincent (and others, if I decide to put any in) becomes relevant to the story and plotline, I will answer the questions. Just hang on for a little while, please!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts or its characters.

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Sheryl blinked. "The Sinclair family?" She was quite confused at the random change in topic, but considering the state Xerxes was in when he arrived, perhaps she shouldn't have been too shocked. "Well, that was certainly an odd change in topic, but yes, I know of them. Why do you ask?"

Xerxes could see the obvious curiosity. "Kevin and I are acquaintances with the Sinclair family, as our own family line used to work for them as knights." He said, using white lies easily. Not quite the truth, but not false either.

"I see." Sheryl began. "In that case, I need to ask you one more question." She started, sounding very serious. "You both mentioned visiting the Abyss often. Have either of you noticed a difference in _time_ when you exit verses when you enter?" The twins looked at her for a moment, confused. Kevin was the one to answer, coming up with the perfect answer.

"Normally, no. Whenever we visit and leave the Core is always there, to help us. However, I think I know where you are going with that. The Abyss does hold control over time, but it has an arbitrary nature. I suppose if someone were to enter and exit the Abyss without aid, they might end up in a different time period than when they first entered. Since the Core helps us, I suppose it has made sure we stayed in our own time. But since we were sent out rather abruptly…"

"We may have ended up in a different time. Is that what you're saying?" Xerxes finished, not sure if he was asking Kevin or Sheryl.

"I had figured that would be the case, as soon as you asked that." Sheryl said, leaning back into her chair. "There was a terrible accident regarding the Sinclair family about twenty years ago." She started. "There was burglary that ended in bloodshed, killing the entire family. However, one member did survive." The twins perked up.

'No way. No way. There's no way. Did she…? Did the little miss actually survive?' Kevin thought, hopeful. Xerxes was thinking the same thing. It would make sense if she did. In this time, Kevin had not actually asked for that wish, so nothing should have changed in regards to that. Sheryl smiled at them.

"The family's youngest daughter survived. Luckily, she was away when the incident occurred. She is now grown up and has taken over where her father left off." Xerxes felt Kevin squeeze his hand tighter. Of course, Kevin would be anxious to know, possibly even hoping to see her. But Xerxes also knew he was nervous and ashamed to meet her again after all that time. Kevin adored her, and he couldn't bear the thought of her looking at him with disappointment and disgust.

"That's…terrible. But as long as someone managed to survive, I suppose it's not all bad." Xerxes said, before frowning. "Wait…twenty years? Then…ah!" he faked a panicked look. "Brother, what about our house? Where are we to go now?" This time, he was interrupted by Shelly.

"Please don't worry about that!" she said, standing suddenly. She had a gleam in her eyes that made Xerxes smile inside and made Kevin shrink back slightly in fear. "You two can stay here with us! You told us about yourselves, and since the Abyss adores you, it would be better that you stay nearby where the Abyss connects to the Upper World! We certainly won't mind having you here. My daughter would most definitely be overjoyed." She said clasping her hands together in front of her bosom.

"Shelly, dear, are you certain-"

"Yes, mother. I am." Shelly interrupted, walking over to the twins and taking hold of their joined hands, cradling them in her own. "I would like them to stay, and if anyone asks, we can just say that they're our new valets! Also," she looked directly into the twins' eyes. "if anyone, and I mean anyone, gives you two grief about your eyes, you let me know! I'll give them a thorough walloping with my fan!" she finished, a threatening glint in her eye, as if she wanted someone to be dumb enough to do so. Kevin gulped while Xerxes just sighed, already used to Shelly's behavior.

"Yes Shelly-sama." Xerxes said, if only to please her. Sheryl sighed, and shook her head. But she smiled as she looked up.

"Very well. So long as you two are okay with it, I certainly welcome you to stay." The twins looked at each other, Xerxes having a slight pleading look in his eyes that Kevin couldn't look passed. Turning to look at Sheryl, Kevin told her that they would be honored to stay. "In that case." Sheryl started, standing up and walking over to them. "I hereby welcome you, Kevin and Xerxes Break, to the Rainsworth household."

The two stood and bowed. Originally, Xerxes did not pledge his loyalty until much, much later. However, this time he knew he wanted to stay and be there from that point onwards, and as such was willing to give his service to the Rainsworth again. Kevin really had no reason to, but he wasn't about to leave Xerxes anytime soon, and he was hoping for a fresh start. Without a second thought both of them looked back up at both of the ladies.

"We thank you, and in turn, for keeping our secret and allowing us to stay, we offer you our service and pledge to you our loyalty, to the house of Rainsworth." They spoke simultaneously. The ladies looked stunned and did not move for a moment, as the twins' words settled in their heads.

"I never would have thought us to be quite this fortunate. I had always assumed it would be either Rufus or the Vessalius household instead." Sheryl said, but she had an odd look of proud and happy superiority. Another thing she could rub in her old friend's face. With all pleasantries done, Shelly excused the twins and herself from her mother's office. As soon as they all stepped out of the office, Shelly grabbed the twins and without another word dragged them down the hall, ignoring all protests.

She finally stopped in front of a beautiful white oak door. Letting the twins catch their breath for a moment, she told them where they were. "This is my second room, where I have all sorts of clothes and such. Since you two will be staying with us, you should look the part as well. Why don't you two go in and start looking around? I will be right back!" with that, she glided across the hallway and around a corner, out of sight.

The two stood awkwardly outside the room before Xerxes opened it and went in, Kevin following closely behind. The room was very large and covered floor to ceiling, wall to wall in clothes and jewelry. To Kevin's dismay, most of the outfits were all dresses. Xerxes, having already lived through Shelly and Sharon forcing him to play dress up and wear dresses, wasn't phased in the least and went straight to the back left corner of the room, where there was a small section of men's clothing.

Ignoring Kevin for the time being, Xerxes began rummaging through the articles of clothing, hoping to find something close to his favorite outfit that he wore beforehand. A couple minutes later and he found what he was looking for. Stepping back, he pulled a pair of black capris off the rack and a long sleeved violet shirt. It wasn't exactly his favorite style, but it was close enough. It would do. He was saddened by the lack of any white coats and jackets, but he supposed he could get one later. There were no black ascots around either, so he settled for white. Taking his choice of outfit, he moved behind the standing curtain to change.

Kevin followed Xerxes to the men's clothing, staring at the clothes. Honestly, he was lost. He came out of his musings as Xerxes moved away and toward the curtain. He supposed it was his turn now. He stood directly in front of the clothes, taking in each and every item. With a grimace, he realized most, if not all of the clothing were more eccentric than common. Kevin knew Xerxes was fine with that, eccentric looked good on him; but Kevin preferred more common, mundane clothes as he felt more comfortable with them.

Sighing, Kevin rummaged around to pull out the few pieces that he was willing to wear: a pair of black capris to match his twin, a white shirt and a red vest. He turned just in time to see his twin leave the curtain. Xerxes had a smile on his face as he fussed with his white ascot. Kevin smiled softly and went behind the curtain himself. He quickly undressed and began putting on the capris. As he was buttoning his shirt, he paused a moment to stare at the seal on his chest.

The red stood out against his white skin, and if Kevin were honest, he was rather fascinated by it. It was such an interesting design. But now, as he was actually looking at it, he became overly sensitive about it. He could feel it on his skin. It was itchy. It felt heavy. It burned. Resisting the urge to scratch it, he hurriedly finished buttoning the shirt and then put on the red vest. After folding his old clothes and placing them next to Xerxes' he walked out to see his twin contemplating a rack of shoes.

Kevin walked over, simply watching, as he placed his hand over his chest where the seal was. It still itched and burned, if only slightly. Lady Sheryl had been incredibly understanding and nice…he wondered if she would also understand his predicament. She already knew that they could enter and exit the Abyss, she knew they were 'Children of Misfortune' and yet, none of that seemed to bother her. He silently hoped that, if he were to go back and talk to her about his seal, that there was a difference between red and black, that she would help him find a way to stop it from bothering him, as it didn't seem to be going away.

He also wondered if she would let them use the gate. The Core had said they didn't need the gate to return, but Kevin didn't want to take too many chances. One thing at a time though. One thing at a time. It wasn't long before the door opened, and the twins turned to face the door. Shelly walked in, ushering two small forms into the room.

Xerxes blinked and smiled widely. Shelly had brought Sharon and Reim with her. Gods, they were so _little_! He inwardly gushed at how adorable the two were, and berated himself for not remembering how they looked the last time. As he looked at the two, he couldn't help but to compare them to their older selves.

Sharon was just as cute, as expected of his 'little sister.' If anything, she just had a more childish look to her, rounder cheeks and all. Reim however, looked quite different to him, and for the longest while, he couldn't place what was off. Reim still had glasses, still had short hair, and still had that same bookish look to him. Observing his friend's more child-like face, he finally figured out what was different. The answer actually shocked him for a moment, causing his already chaotic mind to jolt and pause. He wasn't even sure where he got the thought anyway, but it was so sudden, and he was so unprepared to even think of it that he had to fight blushing. Reim, as he grew into an adult, had become quite handsome.

Silently, Xerxes wondered how he had never noticed before. Though thinking on it now, he guessed that since he watched him grow the last time, he just over looked that fact. It was a gradual thing and so he never took notice. Much like how looking out at the sky and everything looks the same, but you turn away for a brief second and suddenly the sky is much darker.

"Wonderful! I see you two found the right clothes, and wow! You two look great! They fit you perfectly!" Shelly said brightly. She looked down at the two in front of her. "Now then, go on you two! Introduce yourselves to our new valets." She said gently. It was quiet for a moment before little Sharon ran up to the twins, smiling.

"Hello! My name is Sharon!" she said. From this close, the twins could see she had recently lost a tooth. Xerxes looked at her fondly, trying not to cry again. He squatted down so that he was at her level.

"Greetings, Sharon-chan!" he said, smiling happily. "I'm Xerxes!" He held out his hand for Sharon to shake, which she readily did. He looked up at Kevin. "This is Kevin, my older twin brother." Sharon turned her attention to the addressed twin.

"Hello Kevin!" She said, walking over to shake his hand too. Kevin smiled and followed along, shaking her hand. She reminded him so much of the little miss from the Sinclair family. He couldn't help but adore Sharon for that.

"Hello to you as well, miss Sharon." She giggled at that. Reim finally came up behind her, coughed and started fidgeting with his glasses; a nervous habit he hadn't kicked when he grew up. His eyes were aimed at the ground, too shy to actually look the twins now that they weren't in any need of help.

"Um…hello Kevin-san, Xerxes-san. I'm, uh…I'm Reim."

"Oh there's no need to be so formal, Reim-kun!" Xerxes replied. "Just Xerxes is fine!" he laughed, patting Reim on the head, disturbing the short strands of light brown hair. He laughed more as Reim gawked at him and hurriedly tried to fix his hair, all red faced and embarrassed. Xerxes thought he looked cute. Kevin just looked at him questioningly with a single raised eyebrow.

Shelly giggled as well as she came over, extremely glad that the twins were getting along well with the children. "Now that that's over, how about we go get some lunch? I'm certain our new valets are starving, and I know I heard someone's little stomach growl earlier." She teased, looking at her daughter, who just blushed and glared at her stomach as if it had betrayed her.

The rest of the day ended up rather nice, all things considered. The twins got a tour of the mansion, Kevin more so than Xerxes who still remembered everything, and were given explanations on what would be expected of them. They were to mainly be Shelly's personal valets, but being so also included taking care of Sharon and Reim, when he came over, as sometimes Shelly was unable to due to her frail health. To Kevin, his new duty sounded similar to his duties at the Sinclair household, as he seemed to be the only servant the youngest Sinclair actually liked. As such he often got the babysitting jobs, even though he was a knight. Xerxes was just happy to be back at the Rainsworths and was silently promising to himself to try and help Shelly more than he had last time. Hopefully, she'll manage to live longer than the last time.

Night eventually fell, and Shelly was amazed at how easy it was to get Sharon to go to bed. Then again, she had been playing with Xerxes the past hour, who had let her drag him around the playroom to play with her dolls, and play pretend, where he ended up chasing her around as the 'tickle monster.' Reim, for his part, was equally exhausted, but from dealing with Sharon and Xerxes. However, Kevin and Shelly did spy him smiling quite a bit while playing with the two. He could act all exasperated he wanted, but they knew the truth.

Shortly after seeing the children to bed, Xerxes yawned and leaned against Kevin. "I'm going to take a quick bath and then go to bed. See you after?" Kevin nodded, telling Xerxes to come to his room after his bath. After Xerxes left, Kevin hurriedly made his way back towards Sheryl's office, hoping she was still there.

He stood in front of the doors, taking a minute to catch his breath. He swallowed nervously, and knocked. "Yes? Who is it?" Sheryl's voice inquired lightly.

"It's Kevin, Lady Sheryl. If it's alright, I would like to speak with you on a particular matter." He said, sounding more confident than he felt.

"Come in, dear." He opened the door and stepped in. The room was as he remembered it from this morning, only now it was lit by the chandelier and a couple of lamps instead of the sun. Sheryl was over by a bookcase, putting something away. She turned to look at him, smiling still. "Don't be shy, come in! Come in! Take a seat." She said, finishing up at the bookcase and moving to take a seat by the fireplace. Kevin took a seat opposite of her, wringing his hands in anticipation. "What is it you wished to speak about?"

Kevin felt it was best to get right to the point. "Being a Child of the Abyss, both my brother and I know of Chains. I hope I can assume that you know of them as well, considering you asked us about the Abyss earlier." He waited for her to nod before continuing. "How many ways are there for contracting a Chain?" Sheryl looked confused.

"There are only two ways, as far as I know. Legal Contracts and Illegal Contracts. Why? Do you know of a third way?"

"Sort of…" he started, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "There are actually two forms of Illegal Contracts." He waited for Sheryl to lean forward, serious and asking him to explain. "As you are aware, when an Illegal Contract is formed, a seal appears on the contractor's chest, correct?"

"Yes, a black seal will always show up."

"The seal is only black in certain cases of Illegal Contracts."

"What?"

"Those who have black seals have entered into a willing Illegal Contract. The contract between the Chain and contractor is mutual. However, if a contract can be form willingly, it can also be form unwillingly, without the contractor's consent." A look of horror slowly dawned on the duchess' face.

"Wait, you are saying that a human can be forced into a contract with a Chain?"

"Yes, Lady Sheryl. Sometimes, a Chain will force a human to swallow its blood, and thereby forcing a contract. A forced contract works differently than a willing one, in that during a forced contract, the Chain essentially hijacks their contractor's body. The person has no control over anything that happens, and is mentally shoved aside. The easiest way to explain it is that they become a humanoid Chain, as the Chain takes over completely."

"Then that would mean that, technically, the contractor is innocent of the crimes the Chain commits using their body." Sheryl drawled, mind racing at this new information. "But, couldn't the contractor still manage to control the Chain? It is their own body and should be able to control the Chain, even if only a little."

"Sometimes. Unfortunately, as you've surely seen with willing contracts, the contractor becomes consumed by their Chain's power and lose their minds. Forced contracts…tend to speed up that process. Most of the humans in that case become insane, and not care about what happens to them. They'd rather want the Chain to finish, and drag them down into the Abyss to die to get away from the pain." He said sadly. His mind was flashing memories of Albus, making him shiver.

"I see." Sheryl said, equally saddened. "But knowing that, is there a way to tell if it is a forced contract? At the very least, even if they lose their minds and fall into the Abyss, if we know it's a forced contract, we can rectify some of their deeds, as they are basically the very first victim."

"There is. A forced contract will have a red seal instead of a black one."

"A red seal huh? I will keep that in mind. Thank you for telling me this, Kevin-kun. But may I ask how you know this?" Kevin took a deep breath, he had been anxiously anticipating this moment. He wanted to look her in the eyes, but he just couldn't. He shut them to the world, and swallowed heavily.

"I know…because I was one of those few victims of a forced contract." He whispered. There was a suffocating silence. Kevin still kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see Sheryl's reaction. He gasped in shock when he felt a hand press gently on his chest, right above his seal. He finally opened his eyes to see Sheryl in front of him, a sad and worried look on her face.

"…May I see?" she asked. Kevin nodded, unbuttoning his vest and the top of his shirt. The completed blood red seal came into view. The seal looking much more sinister in the flickering light of a nearby oil lamp. Sheryl stared at it for a moment, before gently placing her fingers on the seal. Kevin twitched, as it was still incredibly sensitive. Sheryl frowned more, as she could feel heat from the seal through her gloves. She would have to see about getting some cooling ointment for it. She could only imagine how Kevin must be feeling. She turned her gaze to his eyes. "Tell me what happened." She demanded.

Kevin took a breath, and then told her everything. He told her about being in the graveyard. He told her about his brief thoughts about wanting to have done something to change what had happened, a natural first reaction to a tragedy. He told her his conviction to say his goodbyes and leave. He told her about Albus the White Knight, coming up behind him, trying to convince him with sugared words. He told her about denying Albus, and trying to leave. He told her about Albus attacking him. He told her about Albus forcing its bloody finger down his throat. He told her about the pain.

When he finished, Sheryl stayed frozen where she was, letting the story sink in. Kevin swallowed, remembering what he and Xerxes told her and Shelly earlier. He had to find a way to blend this story and the prior one together, before she managed to find the holes. He had an idea.

"I don't remember much after that." He started. "Some blurry memories of Xerxes, looking concerned. I think he might have figured out what had happened, but he couldn't do anything." Sheryl slowly nodded, remembering the other clinging onto Kevin and wondering if that was the reason. "The seal completed itself, and Albus dragged me into the Abyss. Xerxes had to have followed me. I remember him being in the Abyss with me. Now that I've had time to think about it, I think the Core was what caused the Abyss to fall apart. It could sense something had happened to one of us, and when it found out a Chain had forced me, one of its Children, into a contract, the Core became angry. Its anger rippled across the Abyss, destroying everything. Not wanting to harm my twin and myself with its own anger, it sent us away and out of the Abyss…and we ended up here." He finished.

Sheryl finally moved back, looking contemplatively at him. "That would make sense, considering the Core adores its Children. I would be angry myself if something like that happened to Shelly or Sharon." She paused a moment, before finally smiling warmly at him. "Do not worry, Kevin." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I know you must blame yourself for whatever Albus did while masquerading as you, but please know that I do not blame you. I forgive you, and I am certain everyone else will as well if they know the truth. I will personally make sure that Pandora, I'm certain you have heard of them, will not persecute you. You are, after all, under my protection." She said.

Kevin stared up at her, wide eyed. "I…thank you. Thank you, Lady Sheryl." He whispered, trying to keep himself from crying. This had gone so much better than he had thought. No wonder Xerxes loved them so much. No wonder the Core liked them. He was beginning to believe himself fortunate that all of this was happening.

"Now then." Sheryl said, sitting back down. "I could feel your seal giving off a lot of heat. Does it bother you?"

"Yes, my Lady. It burns and itches."

"I will send for some cooling ointment for you."

"Thank you."

"Please, there is no need for that. Remember, you are a part of this household and thus a part of my family; and in this family we make sure to take care of each other." Kevin smiled, happy and relieved.

"Even still, thank you. For listening and not judging me. Thank you for taking my brother and me in." He really couldn't express his gratitude in words, and honestly he didn't think he'd ever be able to express it. Sheryl just chuckled lightly.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" she asked.

"Actually, there was one more thing…" he started, buttoning up his shirt and vest. "About Xerxes…his mental state."

"Yes, I remember him having quite the fit when we found him."

"He had another one earlier when he came to me in my room prior to us meeting you. I know that it has something to do with the Abyss, possibly a result of him following me when Albus dragged me in. I do know that it can be fixed, but we need to go back into the Abyss to talk to the Core. Since it made us, it can fix what's wrong." He said. Sheryl leaned back, thoughtful.

"I see. Hmm… how about this." She started, looking Kevin in the eyes again. "It's late, so why don't you go to bed, put some ointment on that seal, and make sure Xerx-kun is okay. Tomorrow my daughter and granddaughter are taking Reim with them out shopping. I will personally take you two down to the gate. You may go back in, but I would like to be there, just in case something happens."

"Very well, I agree with that." Kevin was really hoping for tonight, but he supposed having Sheryl's permission was a better option, and so long as Xerxes was close to him, Xerxes shouldn't have too many problems tonight. He stood, and after telling Sheryl goodnight, he left, hurrying back to his room, where he found his twin burrowing under the covers, somehow having made an entire pillow and blanket fort. He laughed, causing Xerxes to pop his head out of blanket like a Meercat.

"Hi nii-san!" Xerxes said, smiling. He wriggled himself out of the blankets to stand up. He was wearing loose tan pants and a loose pale blue shirt. He hopped over and hugged Kevin, who could tell that Xerxes hadn't been in here long, as his hair was still damp.

"Hi Xerx." He said, hugging him back. Finally, after managing to get Xerxes to try and go to bed, he took a bath himself before putting on a matching pair of pajamas and maneuvering his way into the bed and settling himself next to his twin. He fell asleep easily, and with a smile on his face. Tomorrow would definitely be a better day.


	7. Chapter 7

PickleToast is back! This chapter is a bit short, but that's because I thought it stopped at a perfect place and I have great ideas for the next chapter.

Once again, all things that I have mentioned in previous Author Notes apply.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts or its character.

Enjoy!

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As hectic as the past few days had been, waking up to the soft chirping of birds and the gentle light of the sun just coming up above the horizon through the windows was a very nice and much welcomed change in Xerxes point of view. He woke normally this time, with the sun. Although he almost fell back asleep, he forced himself to stay awake. Being where he was, next to Kevin and still in bed made him feel comfortable in a way he could hardly ever remember. He wanted to be able to take this peaceful time and record it into his memory so he could remember it always.

While he lay there, listening to his twin's breathing, he started going over a sort of plan in his head. There were things he needed and wanted to re-obtain, such as his white coat and most definitely Emily, it was weird being without her for so long. There were also things he needed to plan for. Life with the Rainsworths shouldn't be any different than last time, so there was no need to worry too much on that. Perhaps just spend more time with Sharon, Reim and Shelly, so he could remember then as they are now, especially Shelly. He should also find a way to get his cane sword back, now that he thought about it. Perhaps Kevin would use one too?

Pandora would be a problem on its own, not because of the group as a whole, but of the de facto 'leader' of the group. Xerxes was not looking forward to facing Barma, not one bit. Unfortunately, he was never good at accurately predicting what that idiot duke would do, so he could truly plan for anything. How Xerxes hated that. Oh well, thankfully he was always good at improvising. Then there was Oz and little Gilbert to consider some eight years from now. Along with that came the Baskervilles.

After some thought, Xerxes decided it was best to leave things as it was, as awful as it sounded. Oz needed that experience, and that would really be the only way to get Alice, the dark Alice, back here in the Upper World. Once Alice was here, he would then interfere and hopefully change their minds on how they view Alyss. He hoped that he could get them to like her, if only to just not blame her for anything, so that when Alyss finally does manage a visit, it would be a happy reunion.

'That reminds me…' he thought, staring up at Kevin's green canopy. 'I think, this time, I should try to be a bit nicer to them. I'm still going to tease them, there's no way I'm going to stop that! But really, they just make it so easy! Though I suppose I could lighten up a bit with Gilbert. He really does care, bless his heart.' Xerxes had never really mentioned anything to Gilbert, but watching him grow from a sniveling crybaby brat to a fully grown, albeit still an insecure crybaby, _man_ …he felt proud. Maybe, if he's feeling generous, he'll actually tell Gilbert that. Maybe. When Gilbert manages to do something useful.

Unfortunately, Xerxes' calm and happy mood turned sour as he remembered that dealing with Gilbert would ultimately lead to dealing with the one person he hated just as much as Barma…Vincent Nightray. The first time, he had hated the sewer rat for his obvious fakeness, his obsessive behavior towards his brother, how he was obviously hiding something, _how he had threatened and almost killed Sharon_. There was no way, _no way_ , he could ever forgive that. But…

'Would he even remember me now? The last time, he was there in the Abyss when I fell. I know for a fact he recognized me when we saw each other after. But that didn't happen. It was just Kevin, Alyss and I. So would he even remember? He is, technically, a Child of Misfortune like us, so there's always the possibility he might remember, but then again, perhaps not. If not, I wonder how he'll react to seeing Kevin and I.' he mused, turning to watch his twin's face. 'I'm certain I was the only other person with red eyes he had ever seen or met.'

He almost jumped off the bed as a random thought passed through his mind. 'Perhaps he was such an ass to me the last time because I _was_ the only other Child of Misfortune, and he was just trying to get my attention the only way he knew how.' He paused, letting the thought sink in. He really didn't want it to be true, but it would make some sense. There were a lot of instances that Vincent had purposely done things to piss him off that he never would have done to anyone else. After giving it some more thought, Xerxes made a decision. He would _try_ to be nice to the rat. Keyword being try; for if that was the case, then wouldn't that mean Vincent was just lonely as well and looking for someone who understood the pain and hardships he had gone through?

Memories of the past timeline surged across his memory, and he frowned. He would try to be nice, but he wasn't going to make promises. He still remembered, clear as crystal, the event where he kidnapped Sharon, hijacked her Chain to get Oz and Alice in trouble, almost killed Sharon with poison, made him destroy the bell that had taken great lengths to obtain (probably because it contained something that Vincent knew and didn't want anyone else to know), and even when he did destroy it, he didn't keep his end of the bargain! He tossed the antidote over the balcony! If it wasn't for Echo, who was also poisoned, Sharon would have been dead and it would have been on Vincent's head.

There was also the event in the Abyss, when he showed up with an unconscious Gilbert. Xerxes remembered that well, the image of little Vincent covered in blood, taunting Alyss. He couldn't recall much after that, but he did remember Alyss and Cheshire yelling at him. Vincent had hurt Alyss and Cheshire before; he cut up all of Alyss' toys. He made her cry. He had taken bullying to a new level. He had opened the gates to the Abyss and caused the people of Sablier to fall into it, which caused Alyss great pain. Really, it sort of surprised Xerxes. As a Child of Misfortune, even with only one red eye, he would have assumed the Core would adore Vincent like it does him and his brother. But the Core, despite that, adores Alyss just as much for being its host. Why would it just sit there and let Vincent bully Alyss like that and not do anything? He doubted that the Core didn't know what was going on.

Perhaps, it had to do with Vincent only having one red eye and not two? To have red eyes meant the Core had made your soul and body, but then both eyes would be red. Vincent only had one. Did the Core start making Vincent and then stopped halfway through? Or was Vincent's birth actually caused by a hiccup in the Core's power, like the Baskerville documents originally said? Xerxes groaned, burying his face into the pillows. All these questions were hurting his head, and making those whispering voices come back. He'd figure it all out later. He had time.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see Kevin wake up. He felt his shoulder being shaken and groaned. Sure, he was awake, but right now his head was hurting and he didn't want to leave the bed or his comfortable spot. "Xerxes." Kevin said, shaking his shoulder again. "It's morning. Time to wake up."

"I don't wanna. M'head hurts." He whined, knowing full well he sounded like a child. He didn't care. He never was good at handling pain, especially mental pain. Physical pain, he was used to. But this constant headache was getting the better of him. He did lift his head slightly to look at his twin, noticing a worried frown on his face.

"Your head hurts? When did that start?" Kevin was freaking out inside. Xerxes had been fine yesterday, for the most part. Why was he getting worse now? Panic began to sit in. He needed to get Xerxes into the Abyssal gate soon, but he had to wait till Lady Shelly and the children left. He swallowed nervously before physically pulling Xerxes up into a sitting position, which earned him a complaint. He ignored it in favor of hugging his twin's head to his chest. Like yesterday, he could feel Xerxes' head pounding and tried to keep his calm.

"Just now." Xerxes mumbled, voice muffled by Kevin's chest. "I was thinking and then it started to hurt. The whispers are back."

"Don't worry, I swear that all of this will stop after today."

"How?"

"We're going back into the Abyss to talk to the Core. It can help and fix everything."

"You talked to the Core?"

"Yes, I did. Is that so surprising?"

"Actually, yes. Yes it is. I wouldn't have expected you to have figured out how to do that so quickly."

"Well thank you for the vouch of confidence."

"You're welcome."

"Cheeky."

"Heh, you like the banter."

"Guilty as charged. Now come on. We have to get dressed. Lady Shelly and the children will be expecting us."

"M'kay." The two untangled themselves from the sheets and went about getting ready for the day. Kevin sighed at the state of the bed and as he started to untangle the sheets and make the bed, Xerxes made his way to the attached bathroom. He turned on the faucet and stared at the water. The whispers persisted. With an exasperated sigh, Xerxes bent down to wash his face. The sudden cold worked wonders in waking him up, and thankfully halting the whispers…if only temporarily.

He looked up at the mirror. He didn't look any different. Still incredibly pale, white hair and a single visible red eye. Drops of water dripped down from his hair and face, and he moved a hand up to brush aside his hair to look at his newly acquired left eye. It was so weird to him, to see two eyes looking back at him from the mirror. He had gotten so used to only having and seeing one that it was surreal. A hand landed on his shoulder making him jump. Focusing back on the mirror, he saw Kevin behind him looking confused and concerned. He didn't say a word as Kevin handed him a towel to dry off. He smiled at his brother in thanks before drying his face, basking in the softness of the fluffy hand towel.

Finishing up, Xerxes put the towel away and followed Kevin out of the room and towards the dining hall. Kevin stopped just outside the door, making Xerxes walk into him. "Hold on a moment…" Kevin murmured, turning around and fussing over his twin's hair, trying to make it more presentable than it was, as it had become messy from when Xerxes washed his face. Once Kevin was happy with Xerxes' hair, he opened the door and went in, his brother following closely behind. The room was mostly empty, save for a maid that way fixing the table cloth on the table and Lady Sheryl, whom was sitting at the end calmly sipping tea.

"Good morning, Sheryl-sama!" Xerxes chirped, smiling and waving as he walked over, a spring in his step. Sheryl looked up from her cup and smiled when she saw the twins.

"Good morning to you as well, Xerx-kun, Kevin-kun." She said, fondly before sitting down her teacup and waving the twins over to sit down. They did so, Xerxes sitting closest to her with Kevin sitting next to him. Sheryl coughed to hide a laugh at the maid's face when she finally realized that the two were identical twins. It was a good thing they had very different hairstyles, otherwise the poor maid might have had a heart attack from seeing double. Kevin looked away, trying not to laugh. Xerxes had no such politeness and snickered. The maid flushed in embarrassment before stuttering out an excuse and left the room.

Shortly after, Shelly came in, carrying Sharon and Reim following behind. Just as they said their good mornings and sat down, Shelly sitting across from Xerxes and next to her mother, Sharon sitting next to Shelly and across from Kevin leaving Reim to sit next to her and looking awkwardly to the side to be able to see everyone; some of the other servants came in with food and drinks. As they started to eat, most of them taking part in eggs, toast, and ham, Xerxes bypassed everything to take almost an entire stack of pancakes and waffles.

Xerxes glanced up briefly under his eyelashes. It appeared that everyone simply assumed he preferred the sweeter breakfast items, only raising a single eyebrow at him for the amount he had placed on his plate. A look at Kevin told him the same. Oh this would be hilarious! He smiled widely, almost smirking, as he innocently picked up the syrup bottle…and practically dumping the entire bottle onto his pancakes and waffles. Reim started coughing, almost choking on his food, looking aghast at the amount of syrup he had just put on his plate. Everyone else was staring at him, wide eyed. Sharon started clapping in child-like awe as Xerxes started to actually eat the syrup soaked food with no issue.

The looks on their faces were so amusing! Xerxes wanted to laugh, but that would be rude since he had food in his mouth. By far, Reim had the best expression; but he knew he could make Reim freak out more. He took an empty teacup and made a show of pouring himself a cup to wash down his breakfast of syrup. He even forced himself to take a sip of it unaltered, pulling a contemplating face before placing the cup down. He moved his hand toward the creamer, looking at Reim's face all the while. At the last second, he grabbed the container of sugar cubes instead. Reim's eyes somehow grew wider and his face paler. It was taking all of Xerxes' willpower not to laugh. The whispers were back, egging him on. He then proceeded to drop in the cubes, one by one, into his cup. By the time he had accumulated ten of then, Kevin grabbed his hand to prevent him from adding an eleventh. He looked at Kevin with a pout.

"Aww…why'd you stop me?" Before Kevin could answer, Reim squeaked out a response.

"Why did he stop?! Why did you _start?!_ Are you crazy? That's way too much sugar! You'll make yourself sick! It's not healthy!" His glasses somehow became skewed as he continued to look at Xerxes in shocked horror. Xerxes smiled with a warm, fond look in his eyes. This was the Reim he knew! Still worried for his health even at such a young age.

"But everything tastes better with sugar! Otherwise it's all far too bitter!" He said. Kevin and Sheryl were the only two to figure out he was just teasing, Shelly appeared to suspect it, but Reim and Sharon took him seriously. Reim tried to reply, but he couldn't find the appropriate words and only ended up looking like a fool, opening and closing his mouth continuously. With a smirk, Xerxes put the final nail in the metaphorical coffin, as he took the sugar cube that he still held and plopped it straight into his mouth and started chewing it. The bliss of eating pure, unaltered sugar was made even better by Reim and Sharon's little faces. Reim looked like he was about to collapse and Sharon was looking at him like he was a mystical magician.

Shelly, having now realized he was indeed teasing, chuckled. Kevin sighed, holding his head in his palm. Sheryl, however, kept a steady gaze on him. Her mind kept going back to that one question Reim had asked. 'Are you crazy?' Xerxes was acting quite…out there, more so than normal she assumed, based on Kevin's worried and confused looks towards his twin. She really, really needed to get Xerxes to the Abyssal Gate so the Core could help him. Shelly had told her she and the children were leaving after breakfast, so hopefully she could get the twins to the gate soon and they could be back, maybe, before they returned. Sheryl coughed to get Shelly's attention.

"Yes, mother?"

"You said you were going out to town today, correct?"

"I planned to, yes. I was going to take Sharon and Reim with me to get a new dress for the party that Rufus is having for Pandora. I also promised Reim and Sharon that we would go to the bookstore and candy store afterwards. Perhaps the twins would like to accompany us?" Xerxes perked up, if he went, he could get his white coat and maybe even re-locate Emily! Unfortunately, it was just not meant to be.

"I'm sorry, dear." Sheryl said. "I already planned for the twins to come with me today. I have some things I need to discuss with them about being our new valets." Everyone but Kevin deflated slightly. Kevin straightened in his seat, smiling, knowing that Sheryl was planning to take them to the gate today.

"Really? That's too bad." Shelly sighed.

"Perhaps we'll come with you on your next trip?" Xerxes said. Shelly and the children immediately brightened at that. Sheryl laughed.

"Well then, now that that is settled. Let's finish eating, shall we?" the rest of the morning went as uneventful as it could be, with Xerxes continuing to eat mostly sugar and Kevin and Reim trying to convince him to eat something relatively healthy. The Rainsworth ladies had a good time laughing at the scene, as Xerxes was adamant that sugar was healthy, and he had the same diet for years and nothing happened to him.

Soon enough breakfast was finished and Shelly was helping the children into a carriage. After waving them off, Sheryl motioned for the twins to follow her. Three hallways later and Xerxes figured out where they were heading. He looked to Kevin, confused. "Why are we heading back to the Abyssal Gate?"

"You and I are going back in to talk with the Core." Kevin said. "It can help stop the headaches you've been having." Xerxes smiled as he processed the information.

"Aww, thanks Kevin. You're an amazing brother." He said, once again leaning his head against his twin's shoulder. The whispers in his head cooed at him. Perhaps it was a good idea to go to the Core…

Once they finally stopped walking, Sheryl pulled out a key from a pocket and opened the large, heavy ornate wooden door in front of them. A sort of grand staircase cascaded downward in front of them. Down and down they continued, Kevin growing more nervous with each step down and Xerxes looking rather bored as he was used to this path. What seemed like hours of walking, Sheryl stopped and looked up at the imposing gate that existed beneath her home, under her protection. The twins looked up at the gate as well. Who would have thought that such an innocent, grand door would be the only thing preventing this world from falling into the Abyss?

Sheryl turned to the two and nodded, stepping to the side. She held her hand up by her heart, holding the Carcere that allowed her contract with Owl tightly. She watched, calm but anxious, as the albino twins made their way to the gate. The doors creaked opened for them easily, and they walked into the inky blackness, willing themselves to go to where the Core was.

 ** _Welcome back, my Children. I am pleased to see you both seem to be doing well._**

The two looked up and found the familiar white glowing blob known as the Core. They smiled. "Yes, thank you, Core." Xerxes said, his wine-red eyes twinkling. The Core laughed, filling the two with a warm sense of happiness.

 ** _You are very welcome, child. It makes me happy to see two beautiful eyes on your sweet face instead of just one. Oh, but how are you fairing mentally? I was informed about something involving fits of hysteria?_**

Xerxes flinched, and gave a quick glare at Kevin for ratting him out. Sure, he was having headaches and whispers and what not, but he could handle it! With a sigh, he nodded. Best not to lie to the Core. "I'm…okay. My head hurts quite a bit from time to time, and there are a lot of whispers that I can't seem to shake."

 ** _I see. Well, good news is that we can fix that. Come here, my child._**

Confused, Xerxes let go of Kevin and made his way forward. Once he was in front of the Core, it moved an arm-like projection to cup his face gently. After cradling his face for a minute, it moved its 'hand' to cover Xerxes' eyes. He gasped, before going slack, and fainting. Kevin ran up to him and caught him before he fell completely. "What happened?"

 ** _He is currently inside his own mindscape. Mad Hatter is there, still, but Xerxes must find him on his own. Once he has, Hatter will return and everything will be fixed._**

Kevin sighed in relief. "How long do you think it will take?"

 ** _That all depends on Xerxes. That does remind me though…_**

"What is it?" Kevin asked, looking up, only to have his eyes covered. He shortly followed Xerxes in fainting, ending up in his own mindscape.

 ** _Mad Hatter…was made specifically for and from Xerxes. I trust him to protect my child…but he cannot protect both of you at the same time. You will find your own personal Chain within you, my dear child. I have already started his creation, but it is up to you to find him and finish him. How he ends up, is up to you. I look forward to see your Chain, my dear Kevin._**

The Core picked the twins up and cradled them lovingly, as it watched them sleep.

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Leave your guesses as to what Kevin's Chain is going to be!


	8. Chapter 8

PickleToast here with another chapter! You will all be in for a surprise at the end, I know! XD

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts.

Enjoy!

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"Uggh…" Xerxes groaned, finally waking up. "Wh-what…happened?" He sat up, looking around his surroundings, confused. He was sitting on a patch of ground, covered in dark, lush grass. At least…it looked like grass, although it didn't feel like grass. He really had no clue what it was. The sky was dark as well, with swirls of dense clouds everywhere. Frowning, Xerxes stood up and brushed himself off. "Where am I? Hello? Is anyone else there?" he called out. He got no response. It was eerily quiet.

Uneasiness set in as Xerxes started walking. He had no clue where he was going, but it sure to be better than staying where he was. He had no idea as to how long he had been walking, but eventually the dark grasslands morphed into what looked like a garden. Xerxes would have described it as a maze, but there was only one path, so it wasn't so much a maze as a pretty pathway. The hedges were covered in a multitude of different flowers. Some he recognized, lilacs, roses, daffodils, some he knew for a fact shouldn't grow on hedges, but they were. There were also flowers that he did not recognize. However, it appeared as though roses were the main flower. There were bright red roses, deep red roses, golden roses, pale blue roses, black roses, white roses…but only the purple roses seemed to stand out the most.

The purple roses were everywhere, and undoubtedly the most abundant. The odd thing was that there should be no reason for them to stand out, even with their vast numbers, as they blended in with the dark atmosphere and palate much more than any of the others. But they stood out. Purple roses…it was almost like they had some sort of glow to them without having any light. As Xerxes made his way to the end of the garden, there was a winding path of what appeared to be granite footstones. Purple rose petals littered the ground, almost as though they were trying to lead him somewhere.

Having nowhere else to really go, he followed them. He eventually found himself coming up upon a mansion. It was an odd mix of whimsical and macabre. The dark stones, rotting wood, ripped curtains and crumbling statues were perfectly offset by light cobblestone, white and bright cherry wood, lovely embroidered curtains and grand, glittering statues. There was a water fountain in front…that was shooting water upwards into the sky instead of coming down. It was like gravity just decided to give up on the fountain. The water itself was an odd thing as well.

Upon closer inspection, Xerxes noticed it was sparkling. It was a light, almost clear liquid, that shown in an array of blues, violets, greens, and reds. He took a step away from the fountain and looked at the mansion again. He could not describe the feeling he got when he looked at it. It was as if he knew the mansion, like it was built for him, and he would admit that if he could he would build a home just like this. However, not even he could have come up with that design. What in the world was this place that seemed to be tailor made just for him?

A sudden feeling of nervousness set in as he walked to the front door. He took a deep, calming breath, before turning the elegant silver handles and pushing the gnarled oak doors in. The inside was perfectly symmetrical, with twin curved staircases leading to a second floor. Directly in front of him, across the room was another door, this time with beautiful white wood doors and heavy iron doorknobs that suspiciously looked like broken daggers covered with thorn vines. The floor was covered in white tile with a plush red rug that expanded the whole room, reminding Xerxes of blood. It smelled sweet as well.

As much as he wanted to explore the place, the white doors seemed to pull him in, beckoning. He carefully wrapped his hands around the handles so as to avoid the thorns, and pulled the doors open. Outside was another garden, this time, there was a large patio of gorgeous black granite. In the direct center was a simple, yet elegant white and silver glass-top table with a set of three matching chairs. On top of the table was a four-tiered stand filled with cakes and candies, along with a two-tiered stand of different small sandwiches. The strangest teapot he had ever seen was resting on the table as well, with mix-matched tea cups. Steam was coming out of the twisted spout of the teapot.

Xerxes walked over to the table, noticing the cups were empty and that the chairs had a top hat motif on the center of their backs. He swallowed loudly. Something about this place…was just off. It gave him a mixed feeling of comfort and uneasiness. He didn't like it. He felt nauseous. Something just _wasn't right_. He racked his brain to try and figure out what it could be, but he was at a loss. He sat down in one of the chairs, contemplating whether he should try a cup of the tea. It was then that he started hearing whispers again. He stood up quickly, the chair almost clattering to the floor. It had been completely silent since he arrived, and the sudden sound of whispers startled him. "Where are they coming from?" he wondered aloud, trying to follow the voices. It was not long before he was led to a wall of very, very tall bushes. Logically, there should be nothing there beside the bushes, given that he could see a wall behind it when he looked up, but the whispers were most definitely coming from behind them. Slowly, he moved his hand and brushed away some of the branches.

A gasp escaped his mouth. There was a hidden door, an archway with stairs leading downward. Without a second thought he hurried down the stairs, not caring that it was so dark he could barely see. When he made it to the end and went outside, he froze. In front of him now was an almost endless sea of dark, gleaming water. It was not at all like the water from the fountain. It was black, still with a varied array of colors, but it now had a shine of silver and looked to be much thicker than regular water. It was odorless, but it had a heavy presence to it. Xerxes took an involuntary step back as it hit him, descending upon him like a thick blanket. It felt like madness. He looked back at the water, a mix of awe and horror. This was a lake, a sea, of liquid madness. He could see now, that some places were even smoking, giving hints to its corrosive tendencies.

He shivered. He really did not want to be here. He was about to turn and head back up to the mansion, when an odd cry hit his ears. It was strangled, like it was crying and choking. It had a pitiful tone to it…and… as the same cry was heard again, it sounded sad, defeated almost. Lonely and trying to find something. Xerxes wasn't sure what came over him then, but as he looked at the water, he was no longer afraid, and why should he be? He had lived most of his life surrounded by madness. He was mad himself, after all. He huffed at himself in indignation. He couldn't believe he was about to let some silly water scare him off.

Without another thought, he stepped into the water. Only, to his surprise, he wasn't walking in it so much as walking on it. He watched, temporarily dazed as he gazed down at the ripples that surrounded his feet as he walked. The cry startled him out of it and he continued, soon loosing site of the entrance. Everywhere he looked was black water. His only guide being the crying sound. Multitudes of soft voices and whispers began to accompany it, letting him know he was getting closer. A sort of dark mist started to blanket the area, limiting his vision. However, being used to having limited eyesight from before, it wasn't much of a problem. What was an issue was that now the extra voices were _everywhere_. It became hard to distinguish which direction he needed to go. Xerxes just kept going straight, hoping it was the right choice.

Finally, after some time walking through the mist, Xerxes notice a large...thing, or figure, out in the distance. The mist made it hard to see what it was. He heard the pained cry again and realized it was coming from the figure ahead. He continued forward. As he got closer, the figure came more into focus. It was a huge amalgamation of the dark water, but its body seemed more grey than black. Coming closer, Xerxes saw its body wasn't really water, but more of a goop that came out of the water. A figure made out of pure madness…one that was crying. Hesitantly, he took another step closer.

"Hello…?" he asked, hoping to get the attention of whatever the thing was. The crying stopped. The figure froze. Xerxes took another step closer. "Um…are you okay…?" The goop on its body rippled, and it turned. The shape of a head appeared out of the top of the goo, followed by the formation of two, white and hallow eyes. Xerxes found himself transfixed, watching the eyes as a swirled mass twisted out of the center of each, until the whole of both eyes were filled. Realization finally dawned on him.

"…Hatter?" a white smile slowly spread across the figure's face and its being rippled in color. It gurgled out a happy sound.

"xERxeS…." It responded, voice distorted. "mY XeRXes…" it cooed, coming closer to him. Under any normal circumstances, Xerxes would have turned tail and ran. But, this wasn't normal circumstance, and he knew, without a doubt, that the thing in front of him was indeed his chain, Mad Hatter. He smiled, eyes lighting up, as he went to meet Hatter halfway.

"It IS you! So this is where you've been! I wondered where you were. It's good to see you again." He said, now standing in front of the chain. It cooed again, clearly happy to see Xerxes as well. He lifted his hand and laid it on Hatter, as if to pet him. "?!" he jerked back as soon as he touched his Chain, holding his hand to his chest, hissing in pain. The smile Hatter wore vanished; a confused and worried garble came out. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Xerxes looked at his hand. It had burn marks.

Hatter saw the burns and suddenly it jerked away, screeching in horror, backing away from Xerxes in fear. Xerxes looked at it confused. "Hatter? What's wrong? It's okay, I'm fine! Just a minor burn." He said, trying to calm down the Chain. His words didn't seem to work. It shook its head and began sliding away, at speed. "What the-? Wait! Hatter!" he called out, running after it.

-POVCHANGEPOVCHANGE-

Hatter took off as fast as it could, ignoring Xerxes. It couldn't believe what had happened. Gods, it had the worst luck! It was true that its madness was corrosive, but it had assumed that its madness was only harmful to creatures and objects that came from the Abyss. Hatter was absolutely horrified that its body of madness had harmed Xerxes.

As a Chain, Hatter did not remember much of its origin. It did know that Xerxes was there from the beginning, and as such, Hatter had come to adore him. Xerxes was its contractor, its host, its _human_. He was important to Hatter, and it did not want to hurt him in any way. So why was its madness hurting Xerxes when it never had before? It didn't know, and it wanted to cry, but it needed to get away, to keep its human from getting hurt because of it again.

Sadly, it made sense that he might get hurt from touching the Chain. Being an Abyssal Chain itself, Hatter's madness prevented it from truly having its own physical form, as it would be destroyed. Since Xerxes was human, Hatter originally couldn't harm him. Unfortunately, the way that organization, what was it called again? Oh right, Pandora. The way Pandora expected Xerxes to summon it and use its power; Hatter's corrosive abilities were being channeled through its human, causing damage. How it hated that, but what could it do?

Slowing down to a stop, it hunched over, crying again.

-POVCHANGEPOVCHANGE-

Xerxes ran as fast as he could, trying to keep Hatter in sight. He was rather surprised at how fast his Chain was, but he hoped that it would stop soon, he was running out of breath and his lungs were starting to burn. He finally slowed down to a stop when Hatter did, putting his hands on his knees and wheezing, trying to catch his breath. He never would have guessed his chain would be that fast, giving it had no legs. He looked up when he heard more sobbing.

He almost wanted to cry along with his Chain. He knew that Hatter had a soft spot for him, but he never would have guessed he would act like this to a simple burn. He had lived through worse after all; a burn wasn't to kill him. He looked upward, assessing the situation. It was obvious that Hatter was upset. Xerxes had to go comfort it, somehow. But if he made too much noise, he was certain Hatter would hear and run off again.

Without a second thought, Xerxes began to tiptoe, creeping closer to the weeping Chain. It took a while, but eventually, he managed to finally make his way until he standing directly behind his Chain. He hesitantly lifted his hand, not quite touching the Chain. On one hand, it really did hurt, when he touched Hatter earlier. On the other hand, though, Hatter was most certainly upset about it, and he could not fault the Chain. In a moment of clarity, Xerxes realized that Mad Hatter was worth it. Taking a deep breath, he took one more step forward.

"Hatter…" the Chain jerked and turned around, shocked. Before it could run away again, Xerxes inhaled sharply and almost flung himself forward, hugging the Chain. He hissed in pain, as Hatter's madness burned his body. Hatter squirmed, trying to get Xerxes to let go and garbling out shocked and worried blurbs, practically in hysterics. He held on tighter, refusing to give up.

"Hatter, please. Stop. It's okay…it's okay." He whispered, slowly moving his arm up and down in a soothing motion. "Please don't cry. Shh…shh…" He closed his eyes. "It's okay. I'm fine. I don't mind…It's just madness after all. That's nothing I'm not used to. Nothing _we_ aren't used to. By ourselves, our madness hurts…it's unstable. Together though, it becomes calming." He nuzzled his Chain. "We are better together, so please, don't cry anymore. I'm here. Your madness is too much for you. Let me take some of it, okay? You know I can handle it…and you are always welcome in my mind. After all, I am _your_ human, and you are _my_ Chain."

Slowly, slowly, Hatter stopped moving, looking down at Xerxes. He looked up at the Chain, his face red and burnt slightly. He smiled warmly at it. The Chain's face morphed into a happy smile, arms coming out of its body, encasing Xerxes in a hug. It gurgled happily again.

"xErxES…mY huMAn…MInE…HapPY~"

Hatter's body melted down, its grey, blob of a body changing into a body of water, now looking much more like the clearer water in the fountain. It draped itself over Xerxes' body, hugging him closer. He felt a tingling sensation all over and it took him a while to realize that Hatter was actually healing him. He smiled widely, relaxing in Hatter's hold. Just as soon as all the burns he had sustained were healed, Hatter's 'body' vanished. In front of Xerxes' now was a glowing orb of sorts, shining brightly.

"So this is your true form, huh?" he asked, holding his hands out and watching as Hatter settled into his palms. "Either way, it's good to have you back." Hatter twinkled, and moved, merging into Xerxes. The entire area faded to white, as Chain and human came back together again. He sighed, voice sounding like two mixed in one, and he smiled, coming to in the arms of the Core. Opening his eyes, the Core was pleased to see a familiar swirled mess instead of a pupil, and a manic grin stretching across his face.

Mad Hatter was back, and better than ever.

-LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK-

Kevin groaned, finally coming to. He sat up, rubbing his head. "What happened?" he wondered aloud. It was utterly silent. Opening his eyes, Kevin took in his surroundings. He was lying in the middle of a stone street; buildings outlined the area, some tall, some small. He stood up, uneasiness settled into his stomach. The entire town was completely silent, as if it were abandoned. There were street lights, but none were lit. Everything was dark, but Kevin could still see. The sky looked as though the sun was just setting, casting everything in an orange-red light. Not seeing anything else, he walked down the street. His footsteps the only sound he could hear.

As he walked, there were multiple alleyways and side paths, but each one he took ended in a dead end. After about the tenth time running into a dead end, Kevin started getting annoyed. He huffed angrily as he returned to the main road. Muttering under his breath, he continued on his way. After what seemed like forever, Kevin noticed that the road started to change from being all stone to being made of some stone and some marble step stones. Curiosity easily taking over, he hurriedly made his way down the new road. As he made his way down the new road, he found himself finally leaving the abandoned city and traversing through the country side. He briefly shivered at how similar the new scenery was to his childhood home, but brushed it off for now. The Core did say something about Xerxes being in his own mindscape, so he could only assume this was his.

'Why does my mindscape have to be an abandoned city though?' he thought, wondering what Xerxes' looked like. Speaking of his twin… 'I hope he managed to find Mad Hatter.' Kevin was so lost in thought that he almost walked into a black, ornamental iron gate. The path continued on passed the gate and there appeared to be a large manor at the end. Wrapping his hands around the bars of the gate, he tried to open it. It took all of his weight and strength to pull one of the gate doors open. After he managed to accomplish that, he had to take a break to rest and catch his breath. The silence of the place beginning to make his ears ring. Stepping passed the gate, Kevin sincerely hoped he could find a way out soon…the place was starting to really creep him out.

Making his way closer to the manor, the first thing he saw was a large fountain. It was made of white marble and crystal clear water shot out of the top and sides of the fountain, cascading beautifully into the fountain below. He welcomed the sound of the water. He allowed himself to set mesmerized at the water for a while before going up to the manor door. The manor itself was stately, but up close he could see that parts of the manor were falling apart, almost decaying. The front doors were made of a beautiful oak, and the handles were made of brass. They opened easily with a loud creak.

The inside was almost symmetrical, there were two spiral staircases that led to the upper floor, but the left one was crumbled and thus unusable. The floor was made of red tile with a plush, bright white rug. The walls were decorated with golden wall lamps and large pictures of different landscapes. In front of him, up a little ways, was another door. It was a simple wood door, but it had very intricate carvings all over it and an iron doorknob. Kevin felt as if he was being drawn to the door, his feet moving on their own. When he reached the door, he realized that the carvings were in the image of the Sinclair family gardens. In all honesty, it unnerved him.

He turned the knob and went in; freezing just as soon as he saw what was behind it. In front of him now was a very long hallway. The checkered floor was offset by a gold rug. All along the walls were suits of armor. There seemed to be an odd pattern of white armor and black armor, but Kevin could not determine what that pattern was as it appeared haphazard to him. He shivered and eyed the white armor nervously, rubbing his chest above where the seal was. Looking away from the suits, he noticed a door a few feet up ahead. Above the door was a large painted family portrait…of the Sinclair family…and all of their faces were scratched out. His breathing increased and he began shaking, nightmarish visions flashing through his mind.

He shook his head rapidly to clear his mind and ran to the door, opening it and entering without looking at the picture again. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark void with glowing sliver tiles that led forward. More curious than anything, he walked forward. As he went in further, two pedestals appeared. The pedestal on his left held a sword while the pedestal on his right had a shield. Once he was within reaching distance of either object, a voice sounded in his head. He thought it sounded a little like the Core, but if he focused, he could here himself in the voice.

 _Which do you choose? To fight, or to protect?_

Kevin stalled, shifting his weight between his feet. He had to choose? He was trained to do both, but he was only allowed to choose one? How was that fair? Oh well, if he had to pick only one, then he would pick one. He took in the objects before him. The sword was a simple to understand object, it was sharp and would be easy to fight with, to destroy his enemies…but the longer he stared at it, the worse he felt, as if he was getting nauseas. It reminded him too much of Albus and what happened. He then turned to look at the shield. Also simple. Shield yourself and others from harm. Protection…something he had failed to do up till now.

He knew he would make better use of the sword, but he kept looking at the shield. He was given a second chance, wasn't he? Why not take the item that represented the one thing he had originally failed to provide? He was trained to be a knight, yes, but that time was over now. He was a valet of the Rainsworth Dukedom, he had two new ladies to protect, as well as the children. He also had a twin that needed him. As he thought of all the people he had now, the choice seemed obvious.

He picked up the shield.

The pedestals vanished; the shield stayed longer but vanished as well. A bell sounded in the distance. He walked forward again until more pedestals appeared. One pedestal had what appeared to be a turtle shell, and the other a red cross. The same voice sounded again.

 _Which do you choose? To better protect, or to heal?_

So he could choose to 'upgrade' the shield, as it were, or to heal? Honestly, he didn't know what to do, but he picked up the red cross. He already chose to protect, he was more than enough skilled to not need a boost on it. Same as last time, they all vanished and the bell chimed. He continued on. More pedestals, three this time. One pedestal had a floating seal of the Abyss, completed. The other had a heart. The final had an odd looking small box wrapped in chains.

 _Which do you choose? To affect the link between, humans, or Chains?_

He took in the objects, thinking. The heart would mean he would affect humans…but he couldn't guarantee that the affect wouldn't be negative. The box, he assumed, meant he could harm the Chains…but Xerxes could already do that with Mad Hatter. He looked at the floating seal. He didn't quite understand how that resulted in affecting the 'link between,' but he picked it up. Again, they all vanished and the bell chimed. Further up, two pedestals. One had a claw, the other an eraser.

 _Which do you choose? To cut, or to erase?_

Kevin did not need to think on this one. He picked up the eraser. If he could erase his own mark, he would, and if he could erase another's than he could save them from the Abyss, hopefully. Vanishing and chiming. He was starting to get used to the rhythm. As he continued on, he found more pedestals, but this time there was a faint outline of a door. Was he getting closer to the end? He hoped so. He looked at his choices. A fan, a smoking pipe, and…a deck of cards?

Kevin was truly stumped. How did any of these items correlate with his previous choices? The fan made no sense, and it seemed kind of girly to him. The pipe, he could potentially see how it could help protect and, if he stretched it, heal. But he couldn't fathom as to how it could erase anything. Lastly, the deck of cards. Again, he had no idea how that would work, but it seemed so out of place, and almost whimsical that he smiled and chuckled a bit.

'Well why not?' he thought as he picked up the deck, still smiling. The others vanished, but the deck did not. He automatically began shuffling, wondering what would happen next. He stopped and flipped the top card to see the King of Hearts. He almost said the name aloud, but a card fell out of the deck, catching his attention. He grip had been loose, so it slipped away. Picking it up, he turned it over.

"Joker…" There was a brief flash of blinding light. When he could see again, the deck was gone, and the door was now visible and ajar. He went in. There were two sets of stairs, one leading towards a book, and another towards a mirror.

 _Which do you choose? To read others like a book, or to have others see themselves?_

"Huh?" Another tricky question. So, he could read others easily or he could make others see themselves…for what they truly were on the inside? To be honest, that actually sounded kind of fun. He went up to face the mirror. At first his reflection did nothing, just like him. However, suddenly it smiled, eyes twinkling. Kevin jumped back in shock as his reflection cackled at him.

"Oh, don't be such a wimp! Haven't you ever talked to yourself before?" it asked, still laughing.

"Wh-what…who are you?"

"Why, I'm you! Sort of. Actually, I'm the result of all your choices you made! I'm your new Chain!" it said, gleefully.

"My…new Chain?"

"Yep! The Core wanted you to have a Chain, like Hatter was to your brother, but you had to make it! So all of those choices were to help you create it, me!" It clapped its hands, closing its eyes, when it opened them, Kevin was shocked to see mirrors where the irises should be. "The eyes are the windows into the soul. But _my_ eyes are like mirrors, for you to see your own soul. Tell me, Kevin, what do you see?" it asked, smiling slyly. Kevin frowned.

"I…see myself…"

"And?"

"…Xerxes. I see Xerxes. The Rainsworths and Reim as well…"

"Good enough. Those are the people you were thinking of the most through this. Are they your precious people? If so, I can't blame you. I'd want to protect them if I were in your place. However, I can aide in that. Won't you let me join you?" Kevin regarded the other, a bit awkwardly.

"What is your name?" The other laughed, sounding reminiscent of Hatter.

"I am Joker." It said, plainly, stepping out of the mirror. In front of Kevin now stood a very tall, human-like Chain, decorated in red and white checker block pants with a grey and black stripped sash tied around its waist. A plain red jacket with a white ascot covered the upper half. The ascot was decorated in hearts, diamond, spades and clubs. Its arms and legs were long and spindly, adding to a more whimsical look. Its hands were all white and shoes a pointed black. Its face was a white mask, sporting a happy face. It had a jester's hat that was half checker block and half stripped, in red, white and black. It had messy pale blonde hair as well.

"…wow." Kevin stared at his Chain in awe a moment, before regaining composure. "I see. It is nice to meet you, Joker. I hope we get along."

"I know we will~" the Chain said, shaking Kevin's hand, before fading into a sparkling light and melding into Kevin's body. The area faded white, and he groaned, shifting in the Core's arms. The Core looked curiously at its child, wondering what sort of Chain he had created. Mirror eyes greeted it, along with a mischievous smile. "Hello, Core!" He tilted his head to look at Mad Hatter, who was looking back at him, just as curious. "Hello, Mad Hatter! Though I suppose since our humans are twins, that makes us brothers too!" The two giggled at the thought, the Core chuckling.

 ** _I have never seen two Chains act so familial. I am glad. But might I have your name?_**

Mirror eyes looked back up. "I am Joker!"

-LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK-

What did you all think? I KNOW you didn't see that one coming! Ha! My 'brilliance' strikes again!

Let me know what you all think about Joker~


	9. Chapter 9

I LIVE! PickleToast is back! I apologize for not uploading in a while. I started Graduate School and it has been quite the b*tch. Thankfully, I finally managed to get some time to type and post! I hope you all enjoy it! I will try to make the next chapter longer, but no promises.

As before, let me know if you see any grammatical issues.

ALSO! I am still open for suggestions. If you have an idea in mind for something you would like to see happen during this story, let me know and I just might make it happen!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pandora Hearts or its characters. I only own the plotline for this story.

-012301230123-

Sheryl stood outside the gates, waiting for the twins to come back. She continued to clutch her caucus, feeling her Chain trying to calm her nerves. Offering the Owl a small smile in thank you, she kept staring at the gates. It was uncanny really, how easily and how quickly she had come to care for the twins. They were, dare she say it, like sons to her. Xerxes was the younger son, full of life and very caring towards the children. His madness that is making him ill gave an illusion that he was of a similar constitution to Shelly, the daughter. Sheryl was worried over his health like she was with Shelly's and hoped that when he came back he would be better. Then Kevin, the oldest son, was observant and responsible. He was certainly worse off, considering what happened to him. Bless his heart, she could not even begin to imagine the pain he must have been in…but she was extremely glad that he had confided in her. He had looked so much like a child then; Sheryl's heart went out to him. She hoped he would find some peace to ease his soul.

Lost as she was in her thoughts, she was quite startled when the gates swung open with valor. Just like before the bodies of the twins appeared on the floor, unconscious. However, unlike before, neither appeared to be hurt or ill. They were only asleep. Sheryl breathed a heavy sigh of relief, elated that her newly obtained sons had made it back home safely. She waited till the gate closed on its own before making her way to the two. She knelt down, stroking their hair, smiling as she immediately noticed how Xerxes' sleep was much calmer and not plagued by dreams as it was the first night he was here.

A shifting of clothes and a groan told her one of them was waking. She looked over to Kevin to see him slowly coming back into consciousness. A moment later he sat up, rubbing his head. He turned to look at her and Sheryl gasped, taken aback. The wine-red eyes she had been expecting…weren't there. Instead, a pair of mirror-like eyes looked at her. She could see the reflection of the room clearly, and with perfect detail, in them. As she stared at him, he gave a friendly smile.

"Ah, hello there! You must be the Lady Rainsworth!" his voice sounded like Kevin's, but it was certainly not in the same tone. "I must thank you for taking in and caring for my host and his brother."

'Did he just say 'host?' What in the world is going on here?' she thought, before collecting herself. "I am, and who might you be?" He seemed shocked by the question.

"That's right! How terribly rude of me! I've forgotten my manners, haven't I?" he said, before standing up and stretching. He offered a hand to Sheryl and helped her up. "I am called Joker, and I am Kevin's Chain, given to him by the Core." Sheryl stared at him, wide eyed.

"You are a Chain? But then…how? Kevin has already had a contract before-" Joker cut her off with a light hearted chuckle.

"I am a Chain, and I am connected to Kevin, yes. But I am not contracted to him." He saw her confusion and decided to clarify. "A Chain comes into being based on the individual that falls into the Abyss. One could say that a Chain is a morphed person, their abilities and personality based on the psyche of the person they came from. Does that make sense?"

Sheryl put a finger to her lips, contemplating. "So what you are saying, basically, is that you are a Chain created by Kevin's psyche, but since Kevin is still here physically, you don't have a body of your own, so you share his?"

"Close enough." he said, before looking down at Xerxes. With extremely gentle care, he picked the other up. "In any case, I should get this one to bed. If you will excuse me…" Joker turned and began walking out of the room, leaving Sheryl there, still confused. "Oh, but…" he paused to turn and face her, a smile still on his face. "You need not worry. I will return Kevin shortly. He is merely sleeping right now. Well then, until we meet again, Lady Rainsworth." He bowed his head slightly before completely leaving the room.

A few minutes later she exited the room herself, still confused. Joker had not exactly answered her questions, and it did not appear as though he was too keen on doing so either. She could only hope that Kevin would be able to explain it later. She made her way back into the main hall when she caught sight of someone familiar. "Good afternoon, Ru-kun. I had almost forgotten that you were coming to visit." She said, fondly, as she walked over to her good friend. Rufus Barma smiled at her happily, before offering her a small bouquet of flowers. Sheryl sighed, 'he hasn't changed at all.' Normally she wouldn't even accept the gift and turn him down, again, but after what happened, she simply took the flowers and thanked him before having a servant fetch a vase of water for them.

Rufus contemplated his long-time crush with a serious look. "What's the matter, Sheryl? You look rather worried. Has something happened?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. It's nothing." Unfortunately, her voice gave away the opposite, and Rufus gave her a withering look. She sighed. "Let us head to my study. I'd rather not say out here." He nodded, understanding. The two quickly made their way to Sheryl's study, closing the door behind them. Rufus took a seat in front of her desk while she sat behind it.

"Now then, what has happened? Is it Shelly? Has she fallen ill again?"

"No, no. Shelly is fine! She's actually out shopping with the children right now."

"I see. Then what is it that has gotten to you so?" Sheryl sighed, wondering how to go about this. She couldn't get out of this one, but she had still promised the twins not to say anything. Then again, they had only asked her to keep quiet about the Children of the Abyss, so perhaps she could spin something believable.

"It's my newly acquired children." Rufus looked startled, and it was obvious that he was most definitely not expecting an answer like that.

"Your…newly acquired children?"

"Yes." She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at his expression. Yes, she was amused now. She could keep this up. "My new sons. They are twins, you know. Identical to boot."

"…" Rufus was silent for a moment. "Wait, do you mean the two persons that were found in front of your Abyssal Gate?"

"Indeed."

"Sheryl…" he took a deep breath in what she knew was his personal mix of annoyance and frustration. "They showed up, out of an _Abyssal Gate_ , strangers. You can't just suddenly…adopt them so soon like that!"

"Why ever not?" she looked indignant.

"You don't know them, they don't know you, and they could be dangerous-"

"Let me cut you off there." She said, holding a hand out. "True, I've only known them for upwards of three or four days, but I will tell you now; those two are not dangerous and pose no threat whatsoever."

"How can you be so certain?"

"I was there when they first woke up. Whatever it was that had happened to them, left both of them in less than perfect health. _Shelly_ was able to manhandle both of them. On top of that, they adore the children and have placed both my daughter and I in very high regard. I daresay that my little Sharon has those two wrapped around her little finger as well, the younger twin especially." Sheryl had a smile on her face as she said that. Rufus obviously still didn't like the explanation or the whole thing in general, but sighed and leaned back, dropping the issue for the moment.

"Very well then, as you are so adamant. But what has happened involving them that has you worried?"

"They…are still not well yet." Not exactly a lie, but he didn't need to know that. "It's been at least three days and the older twin still has a fever and chills, while the younger is suffering bouts of terrible migraines. I suppose I am just overly concerned about their health, as Shelly is of frail constitution herself." Thankfully, Rufus appeared to accept that reason wholeheartedly.

"Ah, I get it. That makes sense." He looked back up at her, his gaze losing the edge it had previously and his poster relaxing. He knew firsthand how Shelly's health made Sheryl worry, and it would only make sense that she'd be worried over another's health and get herself anxious and paranoid over it. "You have spoken with them though, correct?"

"Yes, I have. Lovely lads, they are. Very polite."

"Do you know how they ended up here?" That was what he said, but Sheryl knew him, and what that had actually meant was 'What connection do they have with the Abyss?'

"I have asked them that." She started, hurryingly trying to come up with something that will appease her friend without breaking her promise to the twins. "Understandably, they are rather confused themselves on the matter. According to them, they were walking together when they were surrounded by blackness. They then described something like a room, but they do not remember any clear details about it. What interests me is what they said happened afterwards. They said the entire place began to shake and then start to fall apart and the floor gave out beneath them and they fell. The next they can remember is waking up here." She stopped, waiting anxiously for Rufus to respond.

He sat in the chair, taking in the new information. "Well…I suppose I can understand that they would be confused. But I would like to speak with them personally at some point. Perhaps they will remember more as time passes." Sheryl was happy that he seemed to accept what she said, but was worried about him talking to them. No doubt he would know they were Children of Misfortune the moment he set his eyes on them, and would then start to assume things. If the twins would tell him the truth about their existence like they had to her, it might have been okay. But they won't, and that would only make it worse where Rufus was concerned.

"Perhaps, but I would prefer that they get into better health first. Either way, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about. Those papers you gave me last week…" she was immensely proud of herself for being able to change the topic so smoothly, and Rufus followed along like the little puppy he was. A couple hours later and Sheryl was pleased to have made so much progress with her papers and work. The two had since moved to the garden to catch up. On the way she had caught the attention of one of the maids to send out some tea.

Back in the bedroom, the twins laid together, sleeping off the remaining effects of their trip. Yet, it was not long before the younger finally started to wake. Red, blurry eyes opened as Xerxes came slowly back into consciousness. It was quiet. It was comfortingly quiet. As he sat up and rubbed his eyes to get rid of the blurriness, he felt the familiar stirring of Hatter in the back of his mind. With a broad smile, he climbed out of bed and stretched. Looking over to Kevin, who was still deep asleep, Xerxes decided to leave him be for a while.

He left the room and made his way to the kitchens, enjoying the calm he was feeling. As he was opening the doors to the kitchen a maid ran into him, sending both of them tumbling to the floor, alongside the platter the maid was carrying. The sound of shattering porcelain and the scent of tea filled his senses. "I am so sorry, miss. Here, let me help you up." He said, standing and offering a hand to the maid. She blushed a bit and took it, dusting herself off once she was upright.

"Th-thank you!" she stuttered out, quite embarrassed. Spotting the broken tea set and spilt tea, her embarrassment turned to near horror. "Oh no! The tea! Not good, not good!" she said, hurriedly trying to pick up the mess. Xerxes walked over and started picking up some of the porcelain pieces as well.

"May I ask where you were off to in such a hurry?"

"Lady Sheryl requested tea in the garden! Lord Barma is here visiting and so there must not be delays! Oh dear, oh dear, I'm going to be in so much trouble…" the poor maid looked beside herself. Xerxes paused a moment. Barma was here. Rufus Barma was here. If there was anything he had learned about the ahoged-haired duke, it was that he liked time to plan. There would only be one reason he was here, and that was because of Xerxes and Kevin. Well, Xerxes wasn't about to give the man any time to plot at all. Best to confront him now.

'It's a good thing Kevin's still asleep. Despite knowing my memories, he doesn't know how to handle Barma.' He looked back at the maid. "Perhaps I can help then. I'll remake the tea and bring it out while you finish cleaning here. I'll explain the situation to Sheryl-sama." The maid turned to him in shock, but smiled in relief soon afterwards.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! Lady Sheryl had wanted Earl Grey." With that, Xerxes was in the kitchen heating up water and putting a new tray together. He placed some bite-sized tea cakes as well as an apology for having the tea brought out late. Once the water was boiling, he took it off the stove and poured it into the new teapot and added the tea leaves. It was not long after that he found himself in the garden with the new tray. As he continued on, he finally heard the voices of Sheryl and Barma. Taking a deep breath to calm and steel himself for the inevitable battle with the Duke, he turned the corner and made his way to the table with his signature big smile.

"Good afternoon!" Sheryl startled a bit and looked over, clearly surprised to see him.

"Wh- Xerxes? Oh my, what are you doing here? I thought you were resting in bed?"

"I was, but I'm feeling much better now. I don't know what was in that medicine, but it definitely worked!" he said, setting the tray down and laughing quietly to himself. Medicine, yeah right! But the Duke didn't need to know any differently. It would seem Sheryl understood though, so that was a bonus. Said Duke coughed, gaining their attention. Xerxes looked straight into Barma's eyes, noting that he hadn't looked at all different; except maybe his hair, it might have been shorter than Xerxes remembered, but details. "Ah, yes, hello!" Xerxes said, as chipper and polite as he could.

"Yes…" Barma started, taking in the newcomer. He had never seen this one before and he knew Sheryl had not taken in any new servants, which meant this was one of the twins that had come from the Abyss. His eyes narrowed a bit, honing in on the other's red eyes. A Child of Misfortune. He thought back to what Sheryl told him. 'He and the other know far more than they let on. However, this is rather…fortunate. There have been many tales of these Children of Misfortune. Perhaps I can now learn which of those tales were true.'

'He's plotting something. I know that look anywhere.' Sheryl thought with a frown. She had to break this tension, and she had to break it now. She turned to Xerxes. "I thank you for bringing the tea, dear. But what happened to the maid I had asked?" Xerxes broke his gaze off Barma and turned back to Sheryl.

"There was an accident. I was opening the kitchen door just as she was hurrying out and we ended up crashing. I do apologize, but the tea set the maid was carrying broke in the fall. I offered to remake the tea and bring it out so she could clean the other up."

"I see. Well I am glad neither of you are hurt. I am also glad to see you are doing better. How is your brother?"

"He's' still sleeping, the lazy head!" Xerxes joked, holding a hand up to his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Sheryl smiled.

"I see. I did tell him to take a different medicine to see if it would help with his fever better, perhaps the dose was too much." She said, matching up with what Xerxes said earlier. "Did he look feverish when you saw him?"

"No, he didn't. I guess that means it worked then!"

"That's good to hear. Oh, pardon my manners. Xerxes, this is Duke Rufus Barma, an old friend of mine. Rufus, dear, this is Xerxes Break. Shelly has declared him and his twin as her new valets. " Sheryl said, getting the introductions out of the way.

"An honor to meet you, Duke Barma." Xerxes said, still politely even though he was cringing and gagging in the back of his mind. He hated showing this man any form of respect, but he had an act to keep up, so he also bowed a bit for appearance sake. For his part, Barma did not react to the greeting, looking just as contemplative as before.

"Xerxes…I see." Barma had his fan out and covering the lower part of his face. Before he could ask the other anything, Sheryl spoke, asking Xerxes to go check on his twin and see if he was awake and then dismissed him.

Xerxes happily complied and left. Once safely inside the mansion, he heaved a sigh of relief. That first meeting had not gone as bad as he had thought. Of course now, the Duke knew he was here, knew his twin was here, and Xerxes could tell just from the Duke's face that he knew he was a 'Child of Misfortune.' Thankfully, Sheryl was on his side and he knew she would not let anything happen to either him or Kevin. Shaking his head and deciding to continue that train of thought another time, he made his way back to the room. Kevin was still asleep, but he had shifted a bit, now lying on his back. Xerxes stared a moment before he had a sudden thought. With a slowly spreading, wicked grin, he walked over to the small sofa and ripped a small hole in one of the pillows. He pulled out the longest feather he could and quietly made his way back to the bed. The feather was positioned just above Kevin's nose, hovering. Looking at his twin, Xerxes almost considered backing off, until he felt Hatter stir in the back of his mind, egging him on.

 _Do it! Do it! Do it!_

Well, alright then!

No sooner than as the feather touched Kevin's nose, he woke up and grabbed Xerxes' wrist. Looking at him with a glare, Kevin said "don't you even think about it." Xerxes shrugged and leaned back, giving Kevin room.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it! Hatter was practically begging me to!" he could hear said Chain laughing happily. Kevin's annoyed look vanished in an instant.

"Hatter was? Wait, so you have Mad Hatter back now?"

"I do!" Xerxes laughed as well, before dropping the feather and hugging the other. "Thank you for convincing Sheryl-sama to let us use the gate. You do make a wonderful brother, you know that?"

"Y-you're welcome!" Kevin said, flushing in embarrassment. "I'm just glad you're okay now and that Hatter is back. How is your head?"

"Better, and a lot quieter. I can think now!"

"Well that's always a good thing. Since you were obviously up before I was, what did I miss?" Xerxes sat back, a serious look on his face.

"Duke Barma is here."

"What? Already? He hasn't done anything to you has he?"

"No, I'm fine. Just introductions. Sheryl-sama is on our side and she made an excuse to dismiss me before he could ask or say anything."

"That…that is good. Either way, we should probably stay away for a while, until he leaves."

"We can try, but Shelly-sama and the children will be back sometime soon. Goodness knows what will happen then."

"Very true." The two sat in silence for a while before hearing what sounded like the carriage coming back. Looking into each other's eyes, they breathed in sync and made their way out the door and toward the court yard to greet them, steeling themselves for another meeting with the Duke.


End file.
